University Place (photo by Hannah V. Johnson)
The Adopt-A-Grandparent club is visiting the elderly residents of University Place.
The club gives students and a group of University Place residents the opportunity to come together and participate in activities. Madeline Bow, a communication science and disorders major and president of Adopt-A-Grandparent from Boerne, said she started the program last year with Lauren Anderson. Anderson was president before she graduated, and Bow was vice president.
“So I kind of took over,” Bow said. “And our vision for starting this program was basically when people are in college, they frequently are unable to see their grandparents as much. People who are in different living facilities also enjoy having visitors.”
Bow said students can visit the grandparent they are paired up with weekly or bi-weekly. If a student feels a connection with a resident, they can discuss the project with them and request their contact information.
Maddie Bow (photo by Hannah V. Johnson)
“At that point, it’s kind of up to [the student and their grandparent] as to when and how often and what their interactions will look like for the rest of the year,” Bow said.
Monthly meetings consist of students spending time with the residents. The first monthly meeting will be Oct. 7 at 2:30 p.m. at University Place.
Abbey Lewis, a junior business management major and vice president of Adopt-A-Grandparent from Flower Mound, said the students and elders make craft projects and play games together. Craft projects include painting and decoupage with games including Scrabble and Rummikub.
Another game called the Question Game allows students and residents to get to know each other. The questions are printed on small cards. Examples include: “What was the best job you had in your past,” “What was something specific you remember” and “Best vacation you had as a kid.”
Lewis said some residents have a hard time conversing.
“Having those conversations is really nice because it gets them to kind of open up,” Lewis said.
To Lewis, being a part of Adopt-A-Grandparent is more than obtaining service hours.
“That’s not the whole goal of serving,” Lewis said. “I think, as believers in Christ, we’re called to serve those in our community, especially the elders.”
Lewis thinks elders are overlooked and forgotten in society. She said the solution is to reach out and see how to get involved with valuing the elders.
