Teen 'Smile Ambassadors' Keep Nurmikoti Residents Company in Two-Week Summer Stints

Four young smile ambassadors spent two-week summer shifts keeping company with elderly residents at Nurmikoti in the Nurmi area of Tampere this June. The local paper Tamperelainen reported the visits.

The roles are part of the insurer Turva-backed "From Forgotten to Being Met" community initiative, which donated €100,000 to cover wages and employer costs for more than 100 two-week summer jobs for 15–20-year-olds across 28 municipalities. At Nurmikoti, 17-year-old Sanni Viitanen said the days passed quickly. She walked with residents to see the care home's chickens, strolled to the nearby lake, and sat listening to stories about old objects brought by a container museum.

Nurmikoti's leisure and culture coordinator Niina Rauhamäki said the home deliberately hired underage applicants with little work experience so the young people would gain exposure to a different work environment. Residents noticed the change too. Ninety-one-year-old Ulla Pirilä said it was pleasant "not to have to sit together in a group, but to be able to wander and talk with these girls." Sanni said she learned how to start conversations with older people and would gladly return. Ulla joked she was relieved Sanni wasn't too frightened to come back.

Similar short youth projects have taken place nearby, for example a Nokian two-week playhouse project this June. The visits come amid a wider rise in local volunteering and demand for companions for older residents a recent surge in volunteer sign-ups.