GrandFriends was born in 2016, when Jo our Founder separated from her kids dad. Finding herself in the unenviable position of being a single mum on the other side of the world to her support network of family and friends, Jo realised that is truly does take a village to raise a family.

Jo was lucky enough to have met "Granny Susan" at her daughters daycare and their friendship grew and Jo became part of their New Zealand family.

Jo knew that she could not be the only person in NZ who was feeling this way, with a number of ex-pats as friends and answer from her local community facebook group, Jo realised she was onto something. The post on facebook went viral, and Jo ended up on National TV talking about her idea and GrandFriends was truly on a role!

Now is it's 5th year, with over 650 members nationwide, GrandFriends is an organisation that connects people by linking families with children, with GrandFriends (usually our older community). It is a win-win situation for all. Families are seeking support and a connection with our older, wiser folk and our older community are looking for more purpose, companionship and to be able to help others.

GrandFriends enables those feeling isolated and vulnerable to link with others in their community and get the support and companionship that they need. This, in turn, increases their well-being and mental health.

GrandFriends is entirely volunteer led. Please help us raise much needed funds so that we can expand our services and help many more families and GrandFriends receive the companionship and support that they need.