After the initial shock of the COVID-19 shutdown, we started to notice the toll it had taken on our Grandparents. While we were still able to stay in contact with our teachers and friends through technology, we found our Grandparents to be quite isolated and frightened by the situation. While our Grandparents have always supported us, we thought it was time for us to step up and to try to help them feel connected to other people and give them something to look forward to.
We started by setting up a Zoom call with our Grandparents and "visiting" a zoo where we would screen share the live webcams from the San Diego Zoo. They had so much fun seeing the animals and sharing stories with us, that we made it a weekly adventure! As the shutdown continued and news worsened, we decided to add another weekly family activity. We decided that since we were fighting, why don't we add dragons and trolls to the mix! So we began our weekly D&D adventure with our Grandparents and family. While time consuming and clumsy at times, as this was our first time playing, our Grandparents started off as observers to the game. However, our Grandpa leveled up to be a brave dwarf, Tor. Weekly D&D has expanded to an additional game night to play Pictionary.
Finally, one of the best side activities we have done is instead of our zoo visit one week, we instead looked through the Chicago LIFE collection on Google Photos. Scrolling through the pictures as a family, Grandma and Grandpa were able to reminisce and share stories from growing up around Chicago. While there is some work involved with planning these activities, it has been the best part of this shutdown. We have experienced so much joy helping our Grandparents, we wanted to make a website that would make it easier for people of different generations to connect and spend quality time together at a safe distance.
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| Marla | Mimi |
| Likes to eat all of the office snacks | Toothless' #1 fan |