Roughly 36% of Kentucky’s population is over the age of 50 and the state has one of the highest percentages of people aged 30 and over raising a grandchild or other child of a relative. The Woodford County FCS Agent received a grant from Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky (PCAK) and the state office of AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) to help grandparents and grandchildren, while simultaneously beautifying the community. Woodford County was one of only 10 Extension offices throughout the state to receive $1,000 from PCAK, through its grant from AARP. The Kentucky grant is one of only 246 selected nationwide from a pool of more than 3,500. The project, Growing Better Together with Grandparents, grows relations, communities, and minds.  

The FCS Agent partnered with Woodford County Head Start and Woodford County Senior Citizens Center to host two separate events for the same target audience – grandparents and grandchildren - held close to Grandparents Day. Grandparents of the Head Start students were invited to attend the event during school hours, where they could check their grandchild out of school to participate in the event, which was held outside of the building. They had the opportunity to work together to plant flower bulbs in front of the building and plant the same bulbs in a flowerpot with soil to take home. Each family received a goody bag complete with a gardening trowel, gardening gloves (a small pair for the child and a large pair for the adult), extra bulbs to plant at their home, healthy snacks, nutrition information, and basic gardening information. At the Senior Citizens Center, the set-up was similar, but the participants could bring their grandchild to the center to participate in the same activities at that location. A total of 15 grandparents participated and a total of 21 grandchildren participated.