A surge in support among young people for a local charity is making a difference in Columbus and on the other side of the globe.
Since 2008, local members of The Granny Connection have worked to aid grandmothers living in the neighborhood of Matero, located in the African country of Zambia, who serve as primary caregivers of grandchildren orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
As an affiliate of the Power of Love Foundation, The Granny Connection is dedicated to encouraging self-sufficiency in communities affected by the disease through micro loans and business training as well as food, medicine and health care services.
This is possible through the work of devoted volunteers. Although local youth have dedicated time to the organization over the years, the number of student volunteers dwindled to one in 2017.
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Numbers rise
This past year, however, the organization saw a resurgence of student interest as seven of them signed up to complete service hours and senior projects with The Granny Connection.
Ann Jones, founder and president of The Granny Connection, said she was first inspired to form a local charity after visiting Africa in 2001 and seeing the impact of HIV/AIDS on the continent.
“I saw a great deal of suffering and came home and wanted to do something,” she said.
To expand the organization, bringing in more volunteers became a top priority.
After discovering that local high school students needed to complete service hours and senior projects to graduate, Jones said she and her associates began attending events at the Columbus high schools to promote The Granny Connection.
“One young man, and this was about three years ago, had never sewn,” Jones said. “So he went to his grandmother’s every Saturday to learn. And it was so beautiful, because he was doing something with his grandmother, and we focus on the grandmothers in Africa.”
This year, all seven student volunteers chose to either sew outfits or crochet scarves. They did so under the guidance of Nancy Jo Reed, a former teacher and retired Columbus day care center operator who has been involved with The Granny Connection for about five years, mentoring student volunteers.
Reed likes to work with young people, she said, because of their enthusiasm. She enjoys seeing their finished products and previously served as a senior project judge at Columbus North High School.
“They do such amazing projects. They all have a (higher) purpose,” Reed said. “It gives you hope for the future.”
One of those enthusiastic students last spring was Maggie Mahoney, a recent North graduate.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do as a project at first,” Mahoney said. “But I went to the senior project fair, where you could see booths for different organizations around town, and I just happened to go by Nancy Jo’s table.”
Mahoney said she has a strong humanitarian interest in Africa, which was only strengthened by her involvement with The Granny Connection.
In fact, Mahoney is taking a gap semester this fall and spending July through December in Kenya.
“It (The Granny Connection) kind of just heightened my wanting to go, because I knew something so small like sewing a pair of pants for a little boy can make such a big difference,” she said.
That difference is witnessed firsthand by Jones when she visits Zambia every other year, bringing with her food and supplies for the people of Matero.
Program donations
On their most recent visit, Jones said The Granny Connection brought pill containers to help manage medications and small solar lights so that children living without electricity can do homework at night, in addition to new clothing sewn by volunteers.
“One little girl (in Matero) started crying because she had never had a new outfit,” Jones said. “And it just was so touching. It’s just so rewarding.”
The five high school students who made clothes for their senior project are responsible for 141 new pieces soon headed to Zambia.
More than 400 African families benefit from the program, Jones said.
The Granny Connection, however, also focuses efforts on the Columbus community.
Apart from sewing clothing, students volunteer to knit red scarves for AIDS Awareness Month. Each December, the scarves are tied to trees along Washington Street for passersby who are homeless or cold to use for warmth.
In addition to protecting from the cold, Jones said she hopes the scarves remind people that HIV/AIDS is still an incurable health crisis that deserves attention.
“My concern is (that) for a while AIDS was in the open and being discussed, and there was care and concern, but it’s definitely gone under the radar,” Jones said.
Recent Columbus North graduate Madelyn Sanders was one of two students that knitted AIDS awareness scarves for service hours this past year rather than sew clothing.
Although she had completed the necessary amount of hours for graduation, Sanders said she wanted to volunteer with The Granny Connection to give back to the community.
“They impact so much around Columbus, from farmers markets to local shops,” she said. “I thought it would be a great way to just help out people, since I am so blessed as it is.”
And even though the girls contributed their time and energy to The Granny Connection’s cause, many also found new friendships in members of the organization.
“They (The Granny Connection people) are really welcoming. They invited me to their monthly group, and were always very supportive,” said Pamela Santana, who made 61 pieces of clothing, the highest amount of any volunteer this past year.
That bond is especially important to Reed, who said that working alongside the youth of Columbus is the most rewarding part of her involvement in The Granny Connection.
“You get close with the girls and find out about their families and they talk to you and it’s another listening ear for the teenagers,” Reed said. “They appreciate the effort that you make to be involved in their lives. To watch them grow up and make a difference, it’s incredible.”
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The Granny Connection is always looking for new members, grandmothers or not.
For more information, visit grannyconnection.org, call 812-342-4680 or send an email to info@grannyconnection.org.
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Five student volunteers made articles of clothing to be donated to African children during the past school year:
- Pamela Santana, 61 shorts and dresses
- Kailen Moats, 33 outfits
- Maggie Mahoney, 20 dresses
- Cynthia Guzman, 15 scarves
- Cheyanne Hodson, 12 dresses
Two others made scarves for AIDS Awareness Month:
- Madelyn Sanders
- Claire Malone
Total articles of clothing: 143
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