Partner Projects

Grandfriends’ Appreciation Tea Party: “Bridging the Wonder Years with the Golden Years”

The BBU Dream Ranch adult mentors, youth, younger children, and community volunteers filled the rooms of the Town Hall Estates Nursing Home with joyful and exciting companionship on July 26th when they hosted a Grandfriends’ Tea Party that bridged the senior citizens’ golden years with our children’s wonder years.

In preparation for their outreach mission to Town Hall Estates Nursing Home, our Youth Board mentors and Children’s Advisory Board members participated in a fun interactive Sensitivity Training Children’s Tea Party that was designed to enable younger children to develop an appreciation and understanding of the various needs that senior citizens may have, as well as provide a joyful role play experience for them to learn about tea party etiquette.

The youth mentors concluded the Children’s Tea Party with an opportunity to experience a day in the life of an Event Planner. With the guidance of the adult mentors, our youth and children collaborated to plan the Grandfriends’ Appreciation Tea Party, entertainment, menu and then participated in “Creative Designer Workshops” that encouraged them to use their artistic talents to create tea party favors for our Grandfriends such as tea party cards, jeweled tiaras, crowns and fans.

On the big day of the Grandfriends’ Appreciation Tea Party, the children and youth joyfully interacted with all of the seniors as they passed out their tea party favors and shared light refreshments while listening to our children’s musical performance. Several small groups of volunteers and children also visited the rooms of the residents who were unable to attend the tea party.

The tea party gave our Grandfriends a feeling of happiness and comfort, as well as a sense of belonging and usefulness as special friendships developed with the young children, youth mentors, BBU Dream Ranch staff and volunteers.

This event was truly a story of love; one that began with the idea of combining the mind with the heart so that children and youth would experience not only the personal rewards of volunteerism, but also develop a true compassion towards our Grandfriends and seniors citizens as they united to bridge the golden years with the wonder years.