Joseph Montone, my grandfather, was a strong man who exuded love and compassion to everyone he met. It didn’t matter what was going on in your personal life, all you had to do was spend two minutes with him and he would have you grinning from ear to ear.

As much as he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, nothing made him light up more than seeing his great grandchildren. I have always marveled at the unique relationships children are able to forge with the seniors in their lives. Something about their childhood innocence and total lack of inhibition breaks down the walls of age difference and allows a truly special friendship to form where there is little common ground.

In my grandfather’s final year of life, we had to make the difficult choice to move him into a senior community so he could get the around-the-clock care he needed. We visited him almost every single day. One day as my young daughter, Hunter and I were leaving, we overheard a resident telling a nurse, “I hope she comes back again soon. It’s been so long since I’ve heard the laughter of a child. My grandkids never visit me.” I was shocked almost to tears with this confrontation of fact. I knew in that moment that I was being called to change this.

As a mentor to young girls, I began creating a program that would teach kindness and selflessness while investing in and embracing our seniors, bringing joy to both and wisdom to our youth from an older generation. When I moved to the Pawleys Island area years ago, I was led to a group of women that believed in my vision for this program. With their help and the prayers of many in our community, we have developed something that makes us extremely proud.