What it is
The Grandma Stand is a purple pop-up stand where anyone walking by can sit down with a grandma. The grandmas listen, ask questions and stay present. There is no advice and no agenda, just a few minutes of undivided attention. Grandma Stand Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
How it works
- Stop by. Read the question of the day on the stand’s chalkboard.
- Sit down. Pull up a chair with a volunteer grandma and share your answer.
- Be heard. She listens, asks questions, and gives you her full attention.
Why it matters
Loneliness is a public health crisis. Grandma Stand offers free sit-down conversations in public spaces: no appointment, no stigma, no cost.
- 1 in 2 U.S. adults report experiencing loneliness (U.S. Surgeon General, 2023)
- Social disconnection carries a risk comparable to 15 cigarettes a day (U.S. Surgeon General, 2023)
- 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental illness each year (NIMH)
The story
In 2012, Mike Matthews handed a heartbroken co-worker the landline of his 96-year-old grandmother, Eileen. They talked every week. Mike set up a lemonade stand with a laptop so any New Yorker could talk with her, and from 2012 to 2018 she met thousands of strangers.
Grandma Eileen (1917–2018) was nearly 102 when she passed away. In 2024 Mike painted the stand purple, her favorite color, put her face on it, and brought it back with volunteer grandmas.
