F-A-M-I-L-Y.

No matter how you spell it, it’s something many of the residents of the Grand Avenue Care Center dearly cling to.

The Ames nursing home at 3440 Grand Ave. is a last stop for most of the residents — home from now until forever.

Condensing years of memories and independent living into a few boxes to bring along with them, residents adorn their white-walled rooms with a mirage of family photos that provide a pictorial link to the past.

For many of the residents, those photos are the only connection they have to their families, as a number of them see few — if any — relatives after moving into the nursing home.

The reasons for the absence of family members in nursing homes are as varied as the circumstances that lead people to requiring nursing home care: Some live too far away, others have passed away themselves, and for some, life is just too hectic.

Staff members work hard and do their jobs whole-heartedly, but no matter how thin they stretch themselves, it’s impossible to be there every minute of every day for everyone.

The residents of Grand Avenue Care Center are lucky. For them, there is often someone to fill the void.

And Iowa State student Kelly Johnson deserves a nod for that.

Johnson, junior in child and family services, grew up around nursing homes, spending significant time visiting relatives. She knows how important it can be and what a difference it can make for those in nursing homes to have visitors and companionship.

“Many people never experience what the homes are like, and they have the wrong ideas about them,” Johnson said. “Spending time at one and being with the people who live there is the only way you can really know what it’s like.”

Last year, as floor president of Miller House in Elm Hall, Johnson and a few other students made several trips to Grand Avenue Care Center as volunteers. This year, as RCA educational and cultural chairwoman, Johnson wanted to expand the volunteering efforts and involve more students.

Hence, the “Adopt-A-Grandparent” program was born.

“I’m really interested in seeing people volunteer who are interested,” Johnson said. “It’s such a wonderful opportunity, and it makes a huge difference to the people at Grand Avenue.”

Originally, Johnson had the idea of pairing off a student with each resident. The number of people living at Grand Avenue Center hovers around 50, and he wasn’t sure whether there’d be enough willing students for the program to work.

But thanks to Johnson’s push for success, more than 100 students initially expressed interest in volunteering, and 74 students made a written commitment of volunteering a minimum of six hours at the nursing home.

“I’m so happy with the turn-out,” he said. “It’s been great to have so many willing people, and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.”

Because there were so many interested students, Johnson shifted the program to be more of a drop-in volunteer service than a one-on-one relationship between a resident and student.

Lenka Kalabova, undeclared freshman, made her first volunteer visit to the home on Tuesday afternoon.

“It was pretty much what I expected it to be,” she said. “Actually, it was more fun than I thought it would be. Even though some of the residents don’t talk too much, they seem to have a really good time, and I hope that I’m making their lives happier by volunteering.”

Teresa Peterson, Grand Avenue Care Center activities director, indicated that the “Adopt-A-Grandparent” program is indeed making resident lives happier, as she complimented the efforts of the volunteers with a happy grin of her own.

“The students have just been outstanding,” Peterson said.

“We’ll sometimes get people in here to volunteer, and it’s apparent that they don’t really want to be here. But the students have been amazing. They know exactly what to say and how to interact with our residents,” she said.

Johnson said she plans on continuing the program next year and encourages others to get involved.

“Anyone who thinks they might be interested in volunteering should definitely try it,” she said. “And if anyone would like to start a program like ‘Adopt-A-Grandparent’ at another area nursing home, I’d be happy to help them get that started. It’s important to have volunteers at other homes, too. It really does make an amazing difference.”

Many of the residents are too ill to verbalize those differences, but one need only look at the smiling faces at Grand Avenue Care Center for the proof.