Foster Grandparents For 25 Years

Foster Grandparents Serve 25 Years
by Jane Lee Bock

June 7, 2002

According to Jerry Tavel, a retired Adelphi University professor, the Suffolk County Foster Grandparents program started as a project of Adelphi's School of Social Work. The project, it seems, struck a chord with Suffolk residents. This week the program celebrated its 25th anniversary.

More than 500 people gathered at the Marriott in Huntington today to recognize the people who have kept the program going and growing all these years. And grow it did. It now serves more than 700 children each day according to its spokespeople.

"The relationship between a child and a grandparent is unique," said Suffolk County Executive Robert Gaffney. "It can make a big difference in their lives and all of these volunteers are to be commended for their service."

The Keynote Speaker at the event was New York State Lieutenant Governor Mary Donohue who is not only a former teacher, but also chair of the Governor's Task Force on School Violence and the Governor's Task Force on Quality Communities.

"This program delivers the care and communication that kids need most," she said. "These seniors are not the teacher, not the mother, not an authority figure. They just care and it shows."

Foster Grandparents are connected with many children at-risk programs throughout the county. They read to children and play with them, and mostly lend a loving ear when kids need someone to talk to. And the men and women who provide the assistance say it helps keep them young to be around the children all day.
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