24 | MAY 2 • 2024
J
N
Y
ou are never too old or too young
to make new friends! Especially
Grandfriends! This wonderful
program, facilitated through the Shul-
Chabad Lubavitch of West Bloomfield, is
open to all and is already blooming with joy
and success.
The Shul has launched Grandfriends, a
new program that aims to bring together
children and seniors for one-on-one time
to build relationships and bring joy and
quality time to one another.
The program, founded by Itty Shemtov,
is in its inaugural year. The program was
in the works in 2019 but stalled due to the
global pandemic.
Itty credits her visits to her dear friend
and The Shul community founder Miriam
Shenkman as the seeds to this dream.
Miriam’s natural ability to embrace children
of all ages with true interest in their lives
made visits a joy for all.
Itty recalls a study out of Israel that a
child at 4 years old has the ideal balance of
sufficient language skills to communicate
as well as an absence of judgmentalism
that develops with age. Because of this,
the initial children who are part of
Grandfriends are 4-years-old.
A key goal of the program is to bring
together a child and senior and give space
and structure to their time together, adding
dimension to the traditional visit when
children come as a group to entertain the
Life is Grand with
GRANDFRIENDS
The Shul’s unique program pairs children
with their elders for special one-on-one time.
YEVGENIYA GAZMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
OUR COMMUNITY
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SHUL
Elle Levy holding
a puppet with
Cherna Yellen
Grandfriends at Meer—
Itty Shemtov introducing
her puppet Mody
Kaufmann
family around
their bubbie
Grandfriends
at All Seasons
pose for a
group picture