Liliana and Aubrie help Martha master her laptop.

The youth group at St. Elizabeth’s, Sebastian, has started a new ministry. Adopt a Grandfriend pairs a young person with an elderly retired person.

In the early fall, Joanne Knott, the church’s youth minister, began thinking of a project that would involve the youth group and the parish seniors. Knott said, “Our parish is predominantly elderly, and we have eight in our youth group.”

Four older parishioners have already contacted Knott about the program. “We match the kids with the seniors’ needs,” Knott said. “This need can be doing a chore or just calling them once a week to chat. The kids all have different skills, and we want to make the best match.”

Most of the calls to come to a senior’s house have related to a need for help with technology. “The kids are great at technology, and some of the seniors aren’t so great at it,” Knott said.

After the initial visit, some participating seniors have asked the youth to come back and help them with yard work or do a puzzle together.

Right now, the Adopt a Grandfriend ministry is still in a holding pattern. Knott hopes that as more people return to in-person worship, the program will grow. “The seniors who have heard about the program have been very excited,” she said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Photo by Joanne Knott