President of Erie’s Catholic School System, Travis Washko, said that “grandparents are the quiet keepers of our faith.”
A grand-friend is a term used to describe a friend or relative in the same generation as one’s grandparents.
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Wednesday afternoon, St. George Catholic School hosted their annual Grand-Friends Day, inviting students to welcome their grandparents or special senior friends to visit the school. Grand- friends were included in class activities, family photo shoots, and more.
We spoke with the school’s principal about the significance of Grand-Friends Day and intergenerational relationships.
“We live in a world where you really need to be able to, you know, communicate and understand everybody and what better way and what better teacher than your grandparents to you know, help you understand what the past was, and what the future holds for you. They’re just- our grand friends and grandparents, they’re all great resources to our kids and they’re tremendous for our community as a whole and we just couldn’t be happier to host this event tonight,” said Brian Bradish.
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Over 600 grand friends were in attendance at the event. We spoke with some of them, who told us the importance of children having family support beyond parents.
“For me growing up and I think for Dave too, it’s always important to have family and it makes you feel just connected and special, Cathy Betts said. Dave and Cathy Betts are the great aunt and uncle of one of St. George’s students.
Organizers said that it is important to include all grand-friends because not every child has a grandparent.