Grandma Stand offers a respite for overwhelmed New Yorkers
MANHATTAN (WABC) -- In a city like New York, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the pace, stress, and pressures of everyday life.
"I'm going to give you a hug," Grandma Dana said. "That's what us grandmas do."
But on this day on this one corner of Central Park, a small purple stand offers an unexpected reprieve and the wisdom of a grandma.
The Grandma Stand is a portable pop-up offering New Yorkers a place to take a seat and take a breath.
It's a place where you can find a sympathetic ear or some sound advice.
"I'm so glad I got to talk to her," Shelly said.
"I personally don't have grandparents so just being able to come here and like get advice from an objective stranger is very, very uplifting," Josephine said.
"You sit down and you hear these stories that people tell their grandmothers, and then you realize everyone has a story," said Mike Matthews, grandson. "The disarming nature of a grandma is what we all really, really need."
Mike Matthews is the grandson behind the stand, he started it back in 2012.
"My grandmother lived in Seattle with my parents. I lived here in New York and I had the idea of kind of letting New York virtually connect with my grandmother. And so I set up a little lemonade stand. Put a laptop on it. Noise-canceling headphones. And then I would place it somewhere in the city and then my grandma could virtually meet anyone in New York City that was walking by," Matthews said.
So why did he do it?
"My grandma had so much love to give, and every person who talks to my grandma feels elevated, feels seen, feels heard. And she also benefited, like she felt like she was valued. And so we did this once and it was so popular that we were like let's do it every week Grandma and we did it for six years," he said.
She talked to whoever popped up on the screen until she died in 2018 at the age of 102.
Now, with the help of some 30 grandmas from all over the country, the Grandma Stand lives on.
The day Eyewitness News visited, it was Grandma Dana on call.
It was her first day on the job.
"It was the best. This was the best day. Unbelievable," she said. "I'm such a people person and I'm such a grandma anyway that I thought it would be great. I really thought it would be great, but it's better than I thought."
She loves being part of the grandma squad.
"What do you think Grandma Eileen would make of this?" Eyewitness News' Joelle Garguilo asked.
"I think she would be watching this and saying get as many grandmas involved as humanly possible so at least they have a moment to shine and be heard," Matthews said. "Selfishly, this is for me to honor my grandmother. I feel like this is what she'd want me to do on a weekly basis. I have my own life. I have my wife and my family and a job. She used the term 'old people.' She loves saying that for words, just value old people. See the value of them and don't look past them."
Each week, Matthews picks the location and turns to social media to find his prompt for the day.
That day's prompt was, "What's something you need to let go of?"
"I talked about high expectations that I set on myself," Shelly said.
"I asked her basically about how to let go of control other people have in your life," Josephine said.
"I said that I had an issue with insecurities, and I just didn't know how you combat that," Joann said.
"The conversations have been precious. There's been a common theme, how they need to let go of the expectations and all the pressure they're feeling. You know I think grandmas bring something different to the table. We have the power of experience and unconditional love," Grandma Dana said. "There was a line to sit and talk to grandma, which I thought was so interesting."
"How did that make you feel?" Garguilo asked.
"It made me feel excited. It gave me hope," Grandma Dana said.
"She has a very calming-like demeanor. Everything she says just feels right," Josephine said. "I'm glad that I met a grandma today."
"I did not know Grandma Eileen, but I think Grandma Eileen would be very proud," Garguilo said.
"I miss her," Matthews said. "Every day, I miss her."
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