Service, prayer and social activities keep grandparents connected to their grandsons
On a blistering August afternoon, Jackson Salasky knelt in the dirt behind the Alumni House at Christian Brothers College High School, helping his grandson tuck several leafy green perennials into freshly dug holes.
Nearly three years after moving from Texas to St. Louis to be closer to his daughter and three grandsons, the retired grandfather found himself side‑by‑side with Benny Abraham at a Grandparents United service day freshening up the landscaping around the Alumni House.
“Don’t ever let good enough be good enough,” Salasky encouraged his grandson, a rising CBC sophomore, as he carved out the earth with his shovel to make room for another plant.
The two were among a dozen grandparents, parents and CBC students who spent the afternoon digging, planting and watering — a kickoff event before the start of a new school year hosted by Grandparents United, a club now in its second year at CBC.
Tim Hobart, a 1967 CBC graduate, launched Grandparents United at CBC during the 2025-26 school year. He created the club with a simple mission — to give grandparents a meaningful way to stay connected to their grandsons’ lives at CBC. In its first year, the club grew to more than 250 members, drawing not only grandparents of current students but also grandparents of alumni.
“The Grandparents Club is providing opportunities for grandparents of students to connect with their grandsons and CBC in the spiritual, intellectual, social and physical way for the well-being of their grandsons,” said Hobart, who attends Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Soulard. “Above all, the organization helps make CBC feel like home to its young men.”
Activities have included monthly prayer services for grandparents, quarterly get-togethers, grandparents on campus day, social outings, service activities and an annual Mass and brunch.
The idea for the club grew out of the isolation grandparents had felt during the COVID pandemic, Hobart said. He watched as his grandson, Jack Hobart, a 2021 CBC graduate, experienced virtual school, canceled sports and other activities, not to mention the isolation that many seniors experienced during that time.
“We were seeing less and less of our grandkids (during the pandemic), and it was bothersome,” Hobart said.
Hobart said every grandparent he knows wants to spend time with their grandchildren, but the high school years make that increasingly difficult. Teens are busy with friends, jobs, sports and other activities and preparing for college. “And before you know it, the only time grandma or grandpa see grandkids is Christmas, Thanksgiving and maybe a couple of times during the year for birthdays,” he said.
The club also ties into the idea that staying involved in grandchildren’s lives may be as good for grandparents as it is for the younger generation they’re connected to, Hobart said. A January 2026 study in “Psychology and Aging” followed nearly 2,900 grandparents over six years and found that those who stayed engaged in their grandchildren’s lives — through everyday involvement like attending events, helping with schoolwork or just being present — scored higher on tests of memory and language than grandparents who weren’t involved.
Nicole Godspower, who is known by her grandkids as “Nana,” helped plant perennials alongside her grandson, Kenneth Douglas, an incoming freshman, as they tried to stay cool under the shade of a tree.
The two, who are from Granite City, Illinois, said they already spend a lot of time together, especially after Godspower’s mother (“Gigi”) died in 2018 and the grandkids began turning more to their grandmother. Godspower said she tries to keep Kenneth spiritually grounded and appreciates that CBC is faith‑based and an all‑boys environment.
“I want the best opportunity he can have to do whatever it is he wants to do,” she said. “But I try to always tell him, remember God, in all you do, because nothing else matters if you don’t have that.”
Even with the blistering heat overshadowing their service work, Kenneth said it was a good opportunity to spend more time with his grandmother.
“I’m her favorite of all her grandchildren,” he said with a slight smile.
