Joyce Webb has seven children, 29 grandchildren, and 61 great-grandchildren, but they don’t visit often. So Hillsdale College senior Codi Jo Broten adopted Webb as her “grandma” as part of the Adopt-a-Grandparent GOAL program. Broten drives to the Hillsdale County Medical Care Facility and Rehabilitation Center every Monday to play Bingo with Webb.
“It seems my children don’t have much time to come out and see me, but Codi comes out every Monday,” Webb said. “She enjoys coming out here and she fits right in with my family. I enjoy her.”
As Broten and Webb have grown close, Webb has made it a priority to make sure Broten — who is from Washington state — always has a place to stay for holidays.
“I made sure she was going to have a place for Thanksgiving, I was going to take her out with my family,” Webb said. “If you’re not that far away from home, you don’t know what she’s going through. If she doesn’t have a place for Christmas, I’ll take her home for Christmas. I just enjoy children.”
For Broten, visiting Webb is a highlight of the week because she feels that Webb benefits from her company and looks forward to her visits, and Webb always gives her a hug and a kiss when Broten needs to return to campus.
“I just lost my last great grandma in September, and I love the stories grandparents can tell you, so that’s why I decided to adopt a grandparent,” Broten said. “I think Joyce is super great. I think Joyce enjoys my company a lot more because she remembers who I am and looks forward to when I’m coming.”
Hanging out with Broten is like having another child, Webb said. When Broten was sick for two weeks, Webb worried about her.
“I didn’t know about it and I was worried,” Webb said, “but now i have her phone number so I can call her.”
Webb, who described her life as “people-oriented,” was a foster mother for three years and took in newborns while raising her own four sons and three daughters, so bonding with Broten is second nature.
“I was in a ten-room house, so we had room for anyone that needed a home,” Webb said. “My kids had friends and if someone didn’t have a place to go I’d be getting an extra kid for the night. It’s a nice feeling, there was always room for one more. In the morning I always had to go out and check in the beds, that’s who you cooked for.”
Many of the elderly residents at the care facility are lonely, Webb said, and more college students should make an effort to visit them even if they’re not part of the Adopt-a-Grandparent program, because the residents love the company.
“A lot of people out here have family but they forget them,” Webb said.
Even though Broten is graduating in May, she wants to stay in touch with Webb and hopes more students will visit her and the other residents.
“I think it would be cute to write her letters,” Broten said. “She’s so cute. You can’t force your kids to come see you, and if you do, you want it to be genuine.”
