The GrandConnection Resource for Hospital Senior Membership Programs!

GrandparentsThe GrandConnection is a source for information, program ideas, newsletter articles, and resources for grandparents and senior membership program directors. It is available exclusively to Catalyst Benefits, Inc. members!

Our mission is to enhance, enrich, and strengthen the connections between grandparents and their grandchildren. We believe this precious relationship brings a sense of joy and well being to both adult and child as they express love, explore new ideas, and discover new aspects of themselves and each other. Everyone in the family gains when grandparents and grandchildren connect with one another.

For the hospital senior membership program professional:
Program database, ideas for programs for your members through your senior membership program, for grandparents alone or for grandparents with grandchildren. Including:

Three Generations on GrandParenting

"GrandConnection: Three Generations on GrandParenting" is an engaging and powerful 33 minute DVD and innovative study guide consisting of 30 interviews with three generations, GrandParents, adult children and grandchildren. The interviews are insightful and filled with intense emotion, optimism, tears and laughter. It speaks from the heart, and, within moments, engages you in its dialogue, wisdom and passion for family life. The extensive study guide is easy to use and thought provoking.

Themes: The DVD explores 8 compelling themes as the interviewees articulate them:

Additional Features:


Uses: As a discussion launching point for:


Playing Modes:


Who Produced this DVD:

"GrandConnection: Three Generations on GrandParenting" is a product of BLM Consulting, Inc. and one of the programs of Catalyst Benefits, Inc.

What Has Been Said about the DVD

"A truly pioneering accomplishment!"
Dr. Cullen Hayashida, President, Assisted Living Options Hawaii

"A video to be shared with all generations"
Nancy Luttropp Kisco Senior Living

"This video opens the doors with candid and heartfelt emotions about grandparenting."
Sue Maxwell, System Gerontology Business Leader Lee Memorial Health System

"The viewer is inspired to get involved"
Michelle Conley, Foundation Executive Director Cabell Huntington Hospital

"Raw, real, truthful, and filled with the love these generations feel towards one another. It stirs up your own unique experience regardless of where you fit in the grandparent triangle."
Nancy Whyte, Manager Community Health Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital

"Examines one of life's most precious relationships"
Martha Johnson, Director of Service Excellence Orlando Regional Healthcare

"This video shows that grandparents are the sturdiest of roots and the most inspirational of wings."
Michael Benedit, President Golden Compass

"Exceptional as a teaching tool for grandparents, adult children and grandchildren."
Tim Loerch, Vice President, PBM Services WebMD


GrandConnection recognizes the critical role that GrandParents play in the life of their grandchildren independent of their age and that GrandParenting doesn't stop after grandchildren grow out of diapers. That is why the gift selection goes from "newborns" to college age.

Is Anybody Listening?

This dramatic reading is scored for two aging adults, one male and one female. In the 20-minute dialogue, they address the widest possible array of the issues of aging. This is a perfect program for community professionals, staff training or for groups of members. The program has also been used successfully as a tool for "intergenerational" dialogue. The reading comes with music notes as well as director's comments.

Life Legacy

The process of "parenting" is tied to "ongoing and active teaching." … age appropriate education of both a formal and informal nature. This teaching provides the opportunity for the child to learn "about life," socializing, being loved and loving, family, risk taking, creativity, displaying emotion, honesty, integrity and other values. Parents accomplish this through role modeling, actively teaching (instructing) and, probably most importantly, through creating "life moments and life experience"… true-life events and experiences (sometimes planned and sometimes serendipitous) that allow for values to be transmitted through doing and engaging and "living the experience together." The focuses of this engagement are to make children stronger individuals with a positive sense of themselves, to increase their sense of responsibility to themselves and others (including family), to provide a safe arena for testing new areas of expression such as the arts or athletics and, to creative a "living scrapbook" of memories that remind the growing child of both the lessons learned and the loving and caring that go into creating such "life moments and life experiences."

The addition of grandparents to the picture adds a wonderfully rich and unique dimension. GrandParents have a choice as to how they wish to spend their 3rd age with their adult children and grandchildren. For many, this could span 25-30 years. Here, the focus of creating such "life moments and life experiences" is guided by "legacy" …the life –long gift of those values and attributes that grandparents feel 1) only they can impart and 2) are time bound because, being in the 3rd age, there is realization that, as they would prepare a financial portfolio for the financial well being of their grandchildren, they wish to endow them with a legacy of life lessons, experiences, values and attributes that only they can transmit. In essence, a "life experience portfolio." Here, the grandparent ponders, "what will my grandchild remember about me once I am gone?" The body of this legacy stems from the grandparent's own growing up, aspirations achieved, never realized and deferred, life experiences and "collected wisdom and reflections on life."

This four-part workshop for grandparents is a step-by-step guide to the identification and implementation of that Living Legacy. The guide contains each session's agenda, public relations drops, session evaluations and all tools necessary to conduct the workshop.