About Adopt a Grandparent (Adopta un Abuelito), Inc.

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Story

In February 2000, Pamela Jay-Paralikis, an insurance/computer consultant based in Massachusetts, traveled to Peru to do volunteer work for seniors in Villa El Salvador, a shantytown outside the capital city of Lima. The opportunity was provided by Cross-Cultural Solutions, a US-based organization that connects volunteers with short-term assistance projects around the globe. In Villa El Salvador, Pamela discovered an optimistic program named Los Martincitos ("Little Martins") formed to improve the lives of 145 of the city's most desperate elderly poor, known as ancianos ("ancient ones") or abuelitos ("little grandparents"). After volunteering herself for all program activities for four weeks, Pamela found that she was profoundly moved by the participants in Los Martincitos and decided she wanted to take her commitment even further.

After returning to Villa El Salvador later that year, Pamela decided to become a part-time resident of Villa El Salvador so she could help the abuelitos on a much longer-term basis. Pooling her resources, she made the necessary treks to Peru and began to establish herself. By November 2003, she had built a home in Villa El Salvador, registered the charitable organization named Adopt a Grandparent (Adopta un Abuelito), Inc., a began working alongside with the official Peruvian charity of Los Martincitos.

Today, Pamela splits her time between Sebring, Florida, and Villa El Salvador. While in the USA, she publicizes the needs of elderly poor in third-world countries and actively raises funds for Adopt a Grandparent through presentations to groups, grant-writing, email, brochures, press releases and informal talks. In Peru, she involves herself in every type of program work at Los Martincitos: washing dishes, painting fingernails, visiting seniors who are ill, running an art class, making crafts for sale and even giving massages to program participants under the guidance of a physical therapist. Pamela has established herself as an indispensable member of the volunteer staff at Los Martincitos and a tireless fighter for the dignity of needy seniors around the world.

 

Who we are

The Adopt a Grandparent Board of Directors consists of volunteer members from the USA, Peru and England. The Board "meets" regularly using email and online chats. The primary duty of a Board member is simply to raise funds and act as an ambassador for Los Martincitos. Each member of the Board has spent time at Los Martincitos and is strong in the belief that the "Little Grandparents" should be able to live the remainder of their lives in dignity and joy.

The Board of Directors consists of:

Pamela Jay-Paralikis, Founder and Executive Director, worked as an automation consultant to insurance agencies for nearly 20 years. She has written articles for insurance and automation periodicals and has taught classes in these and other fields. Pamela is a member of the Insurance Institute of America’s National Advisory Board for the Associate in Information Technology Designation [Emeritus], and is the Distinguished Graduate for 1999 in AIT. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts in Education and a Masters degree in Education in Psychology, as well as numerous insurance and automation designations.

Susie Taylor, Managing Director and Chief Officer of Operations, earned her Bachelors degree in international relations from Mount Holyoke College. Susie is the founder of Taylord, LLC., a business oriented toward mentoring children in horsemanship. Like Pamela Jay-Paralikis, Susie learned of the plight of the abuelitos at Villa El Salvador during a three-month volunteer stint with Cross-Cultural Solutions.

In November 2009 Susie will be returning to Peru for one year to work with a non-governmental organization in a developing neighboorhood of Villa El Salvador. During her stay, she will be actively expanding and rejuvenating the Adopt-A-Grandparent effort at Los Martincitos.

 
Elaine Angstman is a native of East Lansing, Michigan, but has lived in the small town of Mason, just south of East Lansing, for the past three decades. Elaine earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees from Michigan State University in art education. She retired from almost 30 years of teaching at Webberville Community Schools. Her main job there was teaching art but she also taught other disciplines, such as science, geography, American History, Michigan history, world cultures, health, and study skills.

 

Daniel Batten holds degrees in international relations and English from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and is currently a teacher in Richmond, Virginia. An active participant in social causes, Dan recently served as a director for Friends of Russian Orphans, another philanthropic organization that originated from Cross-Cultural Solutions. Dan first traveled to Villa El Salvador in 2005 after connecting with Pamela Jay-Paralikis through the Cross-Cultural Solutions alumni community. He maintains the Adopt a Grandparent website and is excited about the positive results generated from the site.

 

 

Esi Dadzie spent six months at Los Martincitos in 2003 as part of the Cross-Cultural Solutions volunteer program. She worked there with Pamela Jay-Paralikis and other CCS participants. “It was an unforgettable experience to be loved by people who knew nothing about you and just gave of themselves," says the resident of London, England. "Adopt a Grandparent is just a little way of keeping the links and the promise to return to see old friends."

 

Rosemary Durkin has a background in insurance and financial services. She currently works for Children's Hospital in Kansas City as a business analyst. She became interested in Peru because she wanted to understand the developing world without being a tourist.

"I found the experience at Los Martincitos as life changing," Rosemary says. "The people at Villa El Salvador and Los Martincitos were wonderful and I ended up receiving more than I gave."

Barbara Krinke recently finished up a stint in Guatemala as a Peace Corps volunteer, working as a small business facilitator. Previously, she owned a marketing consulting business for 10 years, working with pharmaceutical and health care companies. She has also been employed by companies such as 3M (Corporate Marketing), Grey Advertising (V.P., Media Director), and Campbell Mithun advertising.

Barbara has done a great deal of volunteer work in Peru, as a guardian ad litem in the court system, with the American Refugee Committee, and with children in emergency and residential treatment shelters.

Laurie Sunderland recently spent a life-changing month in Peru volunteering with her daughter in the Cross-Cultural Solutions program. She was so inspired and moved by the abuelos at Los Martincitos that she felt compelled to return. “I thought I was giving of my time, but rather, I received a gift far greater than anything I could have imagined,” says Laurie. She looks forward to returning to Peru in January 2010 to spend more time with the abuelos.

A resident of the Kansas City area, Laurie graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Anthropology and a minor in Spanish. She has worn several hats in her working life, including those of a nanny, a pilot, an avionics salesperson, a landscaper, and even a laborer in a fishing camp in the bush of Alaska.

 

 

The future

The long-term vision of Adopt a Grandparent is to expand on the accomplishments at Los Martincitos by aiding similar elderly programs in locations around the world. Many such programs exist, including locations in Costa Rica and Thailand, but the needs of Los Martincitos currently require the full attention of Adopt a Grandparent. Hopefully, we'll be able to someday take steps to help "little grandparents" worldwide!