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