Charity Adopt a Grandparent has launched a series of webinars to share its impact and encourage people to sign up.

Adopt a Grandparent works to pair older, socially-isolated care home residents with volunteers worldwide to combat loneliness and encourage intergenerational relationships.

The first webinar in the series brought together the organisation’s partners, volunteers, trustees, care home representatives and supporters to hear how the programme is positively impacting the lives of the “adoptees” and “adopted”. 

Emma Pomfret, global media manager at The Halo Trust, shared her experience of getting involved in the charity. “Whenever I visited my wonderful grandmother in her care home, I realised how many elderly residents there had no visitors at all, with some not even receiving the occasional phone call or letter, and I found that heartbreaking,” she said. “When I lost my grandmother, I decided to join Adopt a Grandparent to play my small part in helping the organisation to combat loneliness. The experience has been incredibly rewarding, both for my grandparent match Hazel, and for myself too.”

Shaleeza Hasham, founder of Adopt a Grandparent, said the webinar series aimed to connect like-minded individuals, expand their knowledge, and cultivate a sense of community. “Our first webinar was a resounding success. It provided us with an opportunity to increase engagement and encourage more care homes and volunteers to register, by helping them understand and hear directly from the beneficiaries about the benefits of getting involved in our fight against loneliness,” she said.

Endorsed by The Duke of Edinburgh charity as part of its volunteering section, Adopt a Grandparent launched an app last year to streamline and speed up the ‘adoption’ process, which is available to download for free through Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

The charity has also partnered with Barclays Digital Eagles, which is providing digital training to care home staff and residents.