Two high school students’ project to help seniors register for Covid vaccines is off to a great start.

Frannie Cataldo, a junior at Williston, and Adam Low, a junior at Longmeadow High School, created “Juniors Helping Seniors” to help seniors register for vaccines or sign up for a waitlist.

Frannie, also from Longmeadow, Mass., told The Willistonian that seeing his elderly relatives struggle to schedule vaccine appointments inspired the project. After realizing that others needed help signing up for vaccines, they decided to extend the service to their community.

Frannie explained their initial steps. “We started by handing out fliers to local pharmacies and grocery stores, which we found out was the best way to reach the community,” he said. “We helped around 20 people so far, and we’ve only been doing this for a week and a half. We also helped someone that is 99 schedule appointments.”

Frannie realized the significance of their work when those seeking his help did not have access to the technology required to find and book vaccine appointments.

“Some people call without access to the internet or a computer or an email that they can use, so it’s really important that we get people the vaccine that they deserve,” he said.

Adam is equally proud of their positive impact on their community.

“I think [the project] has been very successful, and it’s been really great to help these people get their vaccines,” he said. “The biggest thing I learned is that the average person can have a huge impact on someone’s life.”

Tee Tesharojanasup, a senior at Williston, admires Adam and Frannie’s work.

“As someone who cares about community service and has experience with it, it makes me happy to see people stepping up to help their community,” Tee said.

Their service, which has already helped many, is about to be in much higher demand.

On February 17, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker of announced the next phase of the vaccine rollout, which allows for individuals ages 65 and over and those with two or more certain medical conditions, including asthma, to start receiving the vaccine.

According to Mass.gov, the new phase rollout made nearly one million people newly eligible for the vaccine.

This made it more difficult for Frannie and Adam to find available vaccine appointments, so they called for others to help by setting up operations in their communities.

“We’re doing this in a very limited range right now,” he said. “If you want to help, find a few testing sites around you that you can register people at. Put out some flyers at grocery stores or pharmacies. Hop on the phone with them and help them set up a date or put them on a waitlist.”

He continued, “I would definitely encourage others to do what we are doing. It’s a good way to help others, especially if you’re looking for community service opportunities during this pandemic.”