Our Grandparent Connection program is bringing carers of different ages together to play games, have a break, and share stories with each other.

The Grandparent Connection is an inter-generational mentoring program that we developed to bring people together to take part in activities designed to promote greater understanding and respect between generations and build more cohesive communities. The program concentrated on people who have caring responsibilities at home

Young people who are socially and emotionally isolated benefit the most from mentoring. They benefit from spending valuable time with attentive older people who genuinely are interested in their well-being and personal development.

We currently partner nine mentors over 65 years of age with nine mentees between the ages of 12 and 18. Everyone is a carer, and participants come from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds including Polish, Chinese, Peruvian, Egyptian, Lebanese, Greek, and Maltese.

The paired participants identify goals and strategies that they can work on together, with ongoing check-ins to see how they are progressing.

An inspiring and positive experience

Sherry Mead is one of the mentors from our first Grandparent Connection project. We began working with her early in 2011 after her husband had a debilitating stroke the year before. At that stage she didn’t need weekly respite, but used our services occasionally when she needed a weekend away or help with transport.

“I got a call from the Benevolent Society to ask if I was keen to get involved in the program,” Sherry says. “I was curious – I didn’t know what was involved, but I was interested in meeting other like-minded carers and finding out what it was about and how the relationship would work.

“It was great just having a break from being a carer, doing something for myself – we were just a group of people doing fun activities together. Inspiring stories were shared, and I think the mentees realised that old people can be fun, too.