Our History

From One Student’s Idea to a Nationwide Movement of Compassion

In 2010, Erica Sokol, then a student at the University of Florida, was looking for a meaningful volunteer experience to prepare for a career in healthcare. While volunteering in the pediatric unit at UF Health Shands Hospital, she noticed that much of her time was spent on clerical tasks rather than directly helping patients. What struck her most were the children who faced long hospital stays — often without regular visitors.

Seeing a clear need for companionship and emotional support, Erica decided to act. She recruited a few of her classmates and launched a unique “buddy program,” pairing students with children in the pediatric oncology unit. These student volunteers visited their buddies weekly — sometimes several times a week — offering friendship, play, and comfort during challenging times.

Building a Scalable Model

After two years of leading and growing the program at Shands Hospital, Erica saw its profound impact and recognized its potential to expand. In September 2013, she founded StudentsCare, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to bring the hospital buddy model to college campuses and children’s hospitals nationwide.

While pursuing her Master’s in Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania, Erica developed a business plan to scale the organization nationally. Erica was a semifinalist in The Wharton School’s Business Plan Competition for her work on StudentsCare. She was also awarded the Excellence in Social Impact Award by Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice. Interest spread rapidly — hundreds of college students across the country reached out, eager to bring the Buddy Program to their communities.

By early 2016, Erica had launched 4 student chapters and Hospital Buddy Programs at Michigan State University and Sparrow Hospital; St. Louis University and Ronald McDonald House of St. Louis; University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; and one in her hometown with University of Miami and Holtz Children’s Hospital.

Growth and Recognition

In January 2017, StudentsCare received its first major grant from the prestigious William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, a transformative investment that allowed the organization to continue to grow and scale its impact.  The grant enabled StudentsCare to hire its first full-time staff, marking a pivotal step in the organization’s development. Founder and CEO Erica Sokol was now able to dedicate herself fully to expanding the mission, and Tami Robinson, a long-time volunteer and former school teacher, joined as the organization’s first Program Manager, ensuring consistency, quality, and success across all Buddy Programs. StudentsCare grew to nine chapters by the end of 2017.

Over the next several years, StudentsCare’s programs flourished. Partner hospitals and universities enthusiastically embraced the Buddy model, recognizing its power to ease stress, foster empathy, and create meaningful relationships between students and patients. The Buddy experience became a sought-after opportunity on college campuses — offering students hands-on experience in compassionate care and service, while bringing smiles, comfort, and connection to thousands of children and families across the country.

Expanding to Serve Seniors

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced hospitals to restrict in-person visitors, StudentsCare was faced with an unprecedented challenge: how to continue providing companionship and comfort when physical presence was no longer possible.

Under the leadership of Founder and CEO Erica Sokol, the organization responded with agility and heart — transforming its  model to meet a new need. In April 2020, StudentsCare launched the Senior Buddy Program, expanding its mission to serve isolated older adults in senior living facilities across the country.

Through weekly phone calls and virtual visits, student volunteers brought laughter, warmth, and emotional support to seniors experiencing profound loneliness during lockdowns. The program grew quickly, with facilities in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Arizona among the first to partner with StudentsCare.

This pivotal moment reshaped StudentsCare’s mission — transforming it from a hospital-based initiative into a national intergenerational connection movement.

At the same time, StudentsCare creatively reimagined its pediatric programming. With in-person hospital visits suspended, student volunteers assembled and shipped hundreds of activity kits filled with crafts, games, and comfort items to hospitalized children. Volunteers also recorded and shared interactive activity videos through YouTube and hospital CCTV networks, helping patients stay engaged, playful, and connected even while isolated in their hospital rooms.

As hospitals and senior communities began reopening to visitors, StudentsCare resumed in-person programming while maintaining virtual options. The organization emerged from the pandemic stronger than ever, with two thriving branches of service — one focused on hospitalized children and families, and the other on older adults — united under a shared purpose of connection, compassion, and care.

Overcoming Challenges and Continued Impact

Following the challenges of the pandemic, StudentsCare entered a new chapter marked by resilience, innovation, and renewal. The success of both the Hospital Buddy Program and the Senior Buddy Program reaffirmed the organization’s core belief in the power of intergenerational friendship and compassionate connection.

Yet, like many nonprofits, StudentsCare faced significant funding challenges in the years after the pandemic. Many foundations redirected resources toward emergency relief efforts, and traditional grantmaking slowed. Despite these headwinds, StudentsCare remained steadfast in its mission. Through creativity, persistence, and community support, the organization continued to grow — powered by passionate student leaders, committed partners, and a shared belief in the impact of connection.

Between 2021 and 2023, StudentsCare expanded to new university and community partnerships, including Nova Southeastern University + Area Agency on Aging of Broward County, University of Washington + Queen Anne Healthcare, and University of Central Florida with several pediatric partners — Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida, and Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida. Each partnership strengthened StudentsCare’s reach and deepened its presence within hospitals and senior communities nationwide.

In 2024, StudentsCare received a multi-year grant from The Bernard and Etta Weinberg Family Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, expanding the Senior Buddy Program across six Federation Housing sites in Philadelphia. This effort is helping reduce loneliness and improve quality of life for more than 250 low-income older adults.

Then in 2025, StudentsCare earned another major milestone — a multi-year grant from the Epworth Senior Community Foundation to expand the Senior Buddy Program to 10 senior living sites across Miami-Dade County over the next three years. This investment is helping to ensure that hundreds more older adults experience the comfort and companionship they deserve.

Looking Ahead

As StudentsCare looks to the future, the organization is focused on deepening impact, strengthening partnerships, and expanding opportunities for connection across generations. Building on more than a decade of compassion-driven growth, StudentsCare will continue to develop innovative programs that foster empathy, promote volunteerism, and support holistic well-being for children, families, and older adults alike.

With a dedicated network of student volunteers, community partners, and supporters nationwide, StudentsCare is poised to reach even more hospitals, senior facilities, and university campuses in the coming years. The organization remains guided by its founding belief — that small acts of kindness can create lasting change, and that every conversation, every visit, and every shared moment matters.

Together, we’ll continue to build a more connected, caring world — one buddy at a time.