Our Story
The simple question that started it all: How can we provide students with an applied, experiential avenue for character development?
January 2010
Origins
A teacher-team at Montgomery Village Public School in Orangeville Ontario developed the GrandPals project which connected elementary school students with older adults at the Avalon Retirement Residence.
May 2014
Establishing Roots
The first year of a “GrandPals Gala” for Montgomery Village Public School Students. In previous years the project had not enjoyed this kind of wrap-up celebration and closure.
June 2015
Sharing
Springboarding from the resources shared, our friends at the Orangeville Christian School launched a successful GrandPals Project at the Avalon Retirement Residence.
May 2016
Gaining Support
Having gained the attention of the Rotary Club of Orangeville, the GrandPals Project at Montgomery Village PS received a Rotary District Grant to support and further develop the project.
September 2016
Gaining Support
Having gained the attention of the Rotary Club of Orangeville, the GrandPals Project at Montgomery Village PS received a Rotary District Grant to support and further develop the project.
November 2017
National Recognition
Montgomery Village PS teachers Lynda Brown and Marc Mailhot received the Governor General Award for Excellence in Teaching for their work on the GrandPals Project.
September 2018
Resources to Share
The Tamarack Institute hosted a webinar focused on the GrandPals Project, promoting the social impact that is possible through community connected learning. Watch and learn from the webinar.
September 2019
Measuring Impact
Through a partnership with the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute (CESI) at the University of Guelph, Masters student Nicole Libowitz studied the impact of the GrandPals Project on participating older adults and wrote her thesis on the topic.
September 2020
Broader Reach
Kimberly Hartnett and her Grade 3 students at Carmel River Elementary (California, USA), launchd a successful GrandPals project in partnership with The Carmel Foundation.
September 2021
Reinventing
GrandPals Founder, Marc Mailhot teamed up with the Centre for Studies in Aging and Health (CSAH) at Providence Care to strategize on how to grow and expand the reach of the program in a world impacted by COVID-19. CSAH at Providence Care is a centre for excellence for facilitating knowledge exchanges, education, capacity building and research to improve health and well-being of older adults. Together, Mr. Mailhot and CSAH established the GrandPals National Program.
September 2022
National Expansion
The Centre for Sudies in Aging and Health at Providence Care secured a three-year grant to expand the GrandPals Program nationally. In the 2022/2023 school year, the program was introduced to a communities in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.
September 2025
Scaling & Sustainability
GrandPals is born out of a desire to create a technology platform that enables organizations to deeply integrate safe, sustainable, and impactful intergenerational programming into their communities.