Lempäälä launches pop-up grandparent lounge to connect children and seniors
A pop-up "grandparent lounge" run by Siskot ja Simot will hold three to four events this autumn in Lempäälä-talo's Pikkukettu space, matching senior volunteers with children for games, stories, crafts and conversation.
This autumn children and older residents in Lempäälä will have new opportunities for shared activities and companionship when a pop-up grandparent lounge opens in the Pikkukettu space at Lempäälä-talo. The lounge, organised by Siskot ja Simot, will stage three to four pop-up events where children and their parents can spend time with senior volunteers playing games, reading stories, doing crafts and chatting.
Maria Piipponen, meeting coordinator for Siskot ja Simot, said in a press release that many children have grandparents who live far away or with whom contact is otherwise difficult. The lounge aims to build cross-generational interaction and warm memories.
No special skills are required for volunteers. Interested seniors can attend an open information session on Friday 28 August at 10:00 in the Kompa room of Lempäälä main library.
Local partners include Lempäälän lähitori of the Pirkanmaa wellbeing area and the municipality's family meeting place, Pikkukettu. The activities are enabled by a targeted general grant from Pirha.
The pop-up lounge builds on a wider trend of volunteer initiatives and increased activities for older residents in the region, following a surge in volunteer sign-ups in Tampere earlier this year and complementing plans for nearly 100 low-threshold cultural events for older residents this autumn, Tamperelainen reports.
Earlier coverage
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