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Raleigh foster grandparent program celebrates volunteers and invites new members
Summary
City of Raleigh program manager and volunteer foster grandparents highlighted intergenerational mentoring in Wake County schools and child-care centers, shared personal reflections on the program's impact, and urged others aged 55 and older to join.
Shana Cowwell, the foster grandparent program manager for the City of Raleigh, introduced a celebration of the city's foster grandparents and described the program's role in Wake County public schools, child development centers and daycare centers that serve pre-K and older. Cowwell said the program places volunteers aged 55 and older with students to provide one-on-one mentoring and support.
"Children are our future. So, we got to put our best foot forward and helping them and teaching," Cowwell said, describing the program as both a service to students and a source of purpose for older volunteers. She told attendees the event was an opportunity to "celebrate what they pour into others" and to provide support back to volunteers.
Volunteers who spoke at the event described the program's day-to-day effects. Gwindelyn Stokes, who said she is known at school as "Grandma Gwyn," spoke about her experience as a volunteer and the relationships she has built with students; the transcript records conflicting statements about her tenure ("I've been with the program for 10 years" and "I've been in this program for two years"). Jack Horn Walton said he has volunteered with the program for five months.
Another volunteer described the role as filling a family-shaped gap for some children: "I can be their grandmom away from home. I can give them that love. I can give that encouragement." A different participant said the work had been "a wonderful experience" and described finding renewed purpose: "I have found my new love, my new passion if you will, for a second time around career."
Speakers emphasized that the relationships formed are valuable to students, teachers and volunteers alike, saying students often ask where their foster grandparent is when they are absent. The event closed with an invitation to others to join. "Come on and join the foster grandparents. You'll love it," a speaker urged.
Program details mentioned in the remarks: volunteers must be 55 or older, and they serve in Wake County public schools, local child development centers and daycare centers serving pre-K and older. The transcript includes the phrase "Americanore seniors program" when Cowwell introduced the program; that wording appears to be a transcript rendering and is not used in reporting the program's function here.
