Give the Gift of Friendship to Our Elders
Sponsor an elderly individual in a nursing home for as little as $25/month. Your support funds enriching activities — and opens the door to a friendship that means the world to someone who needs it.
Dot Kowalski, 84
Sunny Pines Nursing Home · Chicago, IL
“I've been telling everyone here that I have a sponsor. Mrs. Jenkins tried to get one too but I told her the form was very complicated. It's not. I just wanted to be special.”
Monthly sponsorship
$35/month
847
Grandfriends Sponsored
152
Nursing Homes
98%
Feel Less Lonely
23
Years of Service
Our Mission
No Elder Should Feel Forgotten
Millions of elderly Americans live in nursing homes without regular visitors. Many go weeks — sometimes months — without hearing their name spoken with love. At Adopt-A-Grandfriend, we believe everyone deserves to feel valued, seen, and connected — no matter their age.
We match compassionate sponsors with elderly individuals in care facilities. Your monthly contribution funds enriching activities, games, and services — and opens the door for a genuine letter-writing friendship that brightens both your lives.
Meet Our GrandfriendsReal People
Genuine connections with real elderly individuals
Letters of Love
Write letters that brighten someone's entire week
Direct Impact
100% of your donation funds activities and care
Proven Results
23 years of measurable happiness improvement
Simple Steps
How It Works
Becoming a sponsor takes less than five minutes. The friendship lasts a lifetime.
Choose a Grandfriend
Browse profiles of elderly individuals in nursing homes near you or across the country. Read their stories, learn their interests, and find the perfect match.
Make a Monthly Donation
Choose a sponsorship level starting at $25/month. Your recurring gift funds weekly games, enrichment activities, special celebrations, and more.
Write Letters & Stay Connected
Send letters through our platform. Your Grandfriend receives them at their facility. Many sponsors and grandfriends write back and forth for years.
Meet Them
Featured Grandfriends
Each one has a story worth knowing. Will you be the one to hear it?
Dot (Dorothy Kowalski)
84 years old · Chicago, IL
Sunny Pines Nursing Home
Dot spent 40 years as a school librarian and has read every book in Sunny Pines twice. She keeps a running list of who owes her at gin rummy and the debt is astronomical.
Harold Buchanan
91 years old · Austin, TX
Meadowbrook Care Center
Harold is a retired engineer who once designed a bridge that is still standing in Iowa. He now applies the same precision to tracking the weather, which he insists is 'more of a science than meteorologists admit.'
Eunice Pettigrew
78 years old · Portland, OR
Golden Years Facility
Eunice was a florist for 35 years and can identify any flower by scent alone. She has started a secret watercolor club that is technically not approved by facility management but everyone looks the other way.
Wally (Walter Nkrumah)
86 years old · Miami, FL
Sunrise Senior Living
Wally spent decades as a jazz musician touring the country and has stories about every major city in America. He insists the best fish he ever caught was 'this big' and the measurement gets larger every telling.
Mildred Fontaine
82 years old · Nashville, TN
Harmony Hills Care Home
Mildred was a legendary home cook whose biscuits once won a three-county fair and she has the ribbon to prove it, framed, in her room. She is currently knitting what she describes as 'a very ambitious sweater' that has been in progress since 2019.
Chester Okonkwo
88 years old · Seattle, WA
Lakewood Nursing Center
Chester was a history professor for 30 years and can recite the order of every US president, vice president, and their birthdays. He is currently teaching himself chess openings and considers the other residents 'a warm-up.'
Make a Difference
How Your Donation Makes an Impact
Every dollar goes directly to enriching the lives of your sponsored Grandfriend.
$25
per month
- ✓Weekly board games & puzzles
- ✓Monthly birthday card
- ✓Activity supply kit
- ✓Quarterly update letter
$50
per month
- ✓Everything in Friend Tier
- ✓Daily enrichment activities
- ✓Art & music program access
- ✓Monthly phone call update
- ✓Sponsor recognition certificate
$75
per month
- ✓Everything in Companion Tier
- ✓Premium weekly care package
- ✓Personal care items monthly
- ✓Special holiday celebration
- ✓Annual impact report
- ✓Video message delivery
Real Stories
What People Are Saying
From sponsors who found purpose to grandfriends who found joy — the connections are real.
💙
“Adopting my Grandfriend Dorothy has been one of the most meaningful things I've done. She writes back with the most wonderful stories about her garden club days.”
Sarah M.
Sponsor, Chicago IL
👵
“My sponsor writes me letters every week. Last Tuesday I read one out loud at dinner and Margaret from Room 12 started crying. I win Tuesday now. I also win the moral high ground.”
Dot Kowalski
84, Sunny Pines Nursing Home
💙
“I started as a sponsor two years ago. Now Frank and I have this wonderful correspondence about baseball and origami. I've learned more from him than I ever expected.”
James T.
Sponsor, San Jose CA
👵
“Ever since Gerald started writing me letters, I've been winning at bingo every single Tuesday. Coincidence? I think NOT. The letters give me POWER. Gerald is my lucky charm and I will not hear otherwise.”
Reginald Ashworth
93, Palm Gardens Care Home
💙
“The platform made it so easy to find a Grandfriend who shares my love of history. Harold and I have been writing about WWII for eight months. He actually lived it — it's incredible.”
Priya K.
Sponsor, Boston MA
👵
“I've folded 200 origami cranes since my grandfriend started supporting me. The nurses say my room is 'very full of paper birds.' I say it is very full of good luck and they simply cannot perceive it.”
Frank Shimizu
90, Pacific View Senior Living
Stay Connected
Get monthly updates on our grandfriends, heartwarming stories, and ways you can make a difference.