Empowering Adult Children: Navigating the Aging of Parents with ACAP Cobb & Cherokee’s Kelly Graffius

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:24] Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Cherokee Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this morning, and today’s episode is brought to you in part by Woodstock Neighbors magazine, bringing neighbors and business together. For more information, go to Facebook and Instagram at Woodstock Neighbors dot Wbvm. And if you have a heart for community, you want to grow your small business and get big results for a very modest investment, consider joining our Community Partner program, the Business RadioX Main Street Warriors. Go check us out at Main Street warriors.org. All right. You guys are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast co-coordinator with ACAP Cobb and Cherokee, Ms. Kelly Graffius. Good morning.

Kelly Graffius : [00:01:17] Good morning, Stone. How are you?

Stone Payton: [00:01:19] I am doing well. I’ve really been looking forward to this conversation. I got a ton of questions. I know we probably won’t get to them all, but, uh, maybe a good place to start is if you could just paint mission. Purpose? What? What? You and your team are really out there trying to do for folks.

Kelly Graffius : [00:01:35] Absolutely. And thank you for having me. So ACAP stands for Adult Children of Aging Parents. Unfortunately or fortunately, we are all, um, in that realm at some point in our lives. And so what our purpose and our goal is to provide resources to family caregivers and those adult children who are navigating marriage, full time job raising children, and now also acting as that caregiver role for our parents.

Stone Payton: [00:02:04] That sounds like noble work. How in the world did you get involved with this outfit? Absolutely.

Kelly Graffius : [00:02:11] So we’ll back it up to about 2019. I lost my dad to Alzheimer’s. He was 72 years old, and having navigated that space for family caregiver, trying to help and find resources for himself, my mom and our family, um, really struggled, spent a lot of time on Google and not coming out with any real viable resources that could really stick. So I fast forward to about 2021, started thinking about a career change, got into the senior services space and really well connected industry that really looks to serve seniors and their families. And we I was networking with a lovely group here in Cobb and Cherokee County, and we came across Acap, which was founded in 2012, in a small town in Hickory, North Carolina. And they focus on that adult child role and how we can offer resources to them. So it was really incredible work, and it was really something that I needed way back in 2019.

Stone Payton: [00:03:16] So you’re kind of singing my song. I’m there, almost there. Uh, my folks are in their early 80s, and they’ve recently moved here to to Woodstock from Pensacola, Florida, and, um, you know, and my brother Russ was in Tallahassee. He was a little closer. I am so blessed. Now they’re two minutes away. I’ve got a little place right here on the edge of downtown Woodstock, and they’re off of Dupree Road. Uh, and so it’s, you know, I can be over there in two minutes. I can swing by and grab mom. We’ll go grocery shopping, so I. I love all of that. Uh, I don’t guess we’ve quite reached the point where I’m looking for facility, but, yep, I. Yeah, I wouldn’t have the first clue about where to begin. So this acap is a place I should reach out to. When that starts to happen is absolutely.

Kelly Graffius : [00:04:02] And also pre-planning, right? I mean, the aging process can come so quickly. And having navigate, having to navigate that space ahead of any, um, medical crisis, if you will, is, you know, there’s it’s better to know and be prepared than not to know and sit bedside in a hospital trying to figure out all the options for you.

Stone Payton: [00:04:23] Yeah. So go ahead and start thinking it out. Figure out what your options are and start planning early.

Kelly Graffius : [00:04:28] Or just have those conversations. Hey, mom. Hey, dad. What does care look like when, if and when you need it, right? What does that look like to you? And that is a great place to start.

Stone Payton: [00:04:38] All right so let’s play this out a little bit. So maybe we start to have those conversations Russ and I sit down in our family probably over a bourbon but absolutely. Uh, so we sit down, we start having those conversations, getting some things organized. What do you want to happen? And you know, what are some preferences and coauthor this plan? Absolutely. Uh, and then at some point, though, it makes sense for me to reach out to my local acap. Yeah.

Kelly Graffius : [00:05:04] Absolutely. We are here for, um, for those adult children who are navigating all of those things. Um, we’re very A to Z. We try to provide programing that covers a very wide variety of subjects in the caring and aging world. So yeah, happy to. Be a resource and and really be a community partner. That’s the biggest part of our goal. Um, the, the word community is within the Acap organization. So we’re we’re really happy to be here.

Stone Payton: [00:05:33] I love it. So now that you’ve been at this a while in this role, what what are you enjoying the most? What are you finding the most rewarding about it? Well, I’ll.

Kelly Graffius : [00:05:43] Tell you so so we our leadership team has been in the works of planning this chapter launch, which will will launch this month, next week. Actually super excited about that. But it’s it’s been a long journey on learning on you know, what to do, how to do, how to prepare for the best programing that we can offer our community and what is really important to Cobb and Cherokee residents and those adult children. I think really connecting with other small business owners has been really fruitful and rewarding. But then all knowing that we are in this together to serve a greater good and this community is exciting.

Stone Payton: [00:06:26] So I was going to ask you if you had had the benefit of one or more mentors as you start to navigate this new terrain. The answer to that is obviously yes, but say a little bit more about that if you will. Like how they kind of onboarded you and got you suited up and ready to play. Absolutely.

Kelly Graffius : [00:06:43] So, uh, the Acap founder, Frances Hall, she is based in North Carolina. She is the original founder of that Hickory, North Carolina chapter, just by sheer need for caring for her aging mother. And so she now has launched, I think we’re up to 12 chapters nationally, and we will be the second chapter in metro Atlanta to launch. And really, her guidance and her wisdom on having been there and what to help us stay focused on what really serves this population, because it’s very different from the work that I do in my small business where I am serving the adult, the aging population, this we’re looking to serve that adult child. We are there to serve that adult child, which I fit in. You fit in. A lot of people fit in and really have no idea where to find those resources, as you mentioned.

Stone Payton: [00:07:42] And so is there a fee structure associated with this? How does that piece work?

Kelly Graffius : [00:07:46] Absolutely. So that’s the beauty of this. Our chapters program is 100%, 100% sponsored by local businesses. So our programing is free. Um, each month we, we offer that free programing with resources and topics to discuss. So that’s the that’s the beauty of it. All right.

Stone Payton: [00:08:06] Well, a lot of business people listen to this. Yeah. So let’s speak to them a little bit about how and why to to at least consider sponsoring. Yep.

Kelly Graffius : [00:08:14] Absolutely. So um, really, you know, if you have a heart for aging loved ones or if you are an adult child and you are a small business owner, there’s lots of opportunity, different tiers of sponsorship levels. So, you know, happy to pass that information along as well, but really to serve the greater good of people within our community. If you hear that kind of common thread throughout, that is really what our goal is to serve the people of Cobb and Cherokee County. Well, I can’t.

Stone Payton: [00:08:42] Really speak to Cobb. I have no reason to believe they’re not exactly the same way. But I got to tell you, my experience here in Cherokee County, well, you can see on my wall I’ve got community partners. The the the small business community here is so collaborative and and so invested in community. So, uh, I think you’re going to have some marvelous participation around here.

Kelly Graffius : [00:09:05] Well, we’re excited. Bring it on.

Stone Payton: [00:09:08] That sounds great. Uh, I often will ask my guests because a great many of them are small business owners. I often ask I often ask them about sales and marketing, how they get new clients. So whatever is the appropriate version of that question. But you got to you got to get out and shake the trees a little bit, right? You can’t just build this thing and people come sponsors, clients, all of that. Right?

Kelly Graffius : [00:09:29] Absolutely. And that’s a great question. Thank you. So, um, it is really very organic. Um, we reach out to a lot of small business owners, a lot of, um, providers that are within, um, in Cherokee County to that serve the older population that knows, um, say, for doctor’s offices and things like that, churches. Where can we bring this information to the community and get the word out there that our programing is starting next week?

Stone Payton: [00:10:01] Fantastic. Okay. So as a group and as this group continues to grow sponsors or just people that are interested in supporting this effort, I mean, do you guys get together periodically? Is there like Margarita Mondays or what? What’s the plan?

Kelly Graffius : [00:10:17] Not Margarita Monday, but I will have to implement that. So great idea. Thank you for that. Um, we do. So our leadership team is, um, like I said, is about 15 professionals that serve the Cobb and Cherokee area. We meet monthly. Um, and we are we talk about the programing and really how we can serve each other. It serves two purposes, because we want to learn about each other’s businesses as well, and get to know each other and how we can build each other’s businesses, but also then serve that community. So yeah, Margarita Monday is coming up. I love you have to join us. Oh, I’m.

Stone Payton: [00:10:53] Getting on this train, no question about that. So I don’t know when or how you would find the time because you’re running this business and I’m a small business owner. Uh, and so I know it can take some time. Uh, and your neck deep in this. But I am interested to know what what passions, if any, pursuits. Hobbies do you enjoy pursuing outside the scope of this work we’re talking about?

Kelly Graffius : [00:11:18] Yeah, well, thank you for that. I, um, so I am a mother of two young girls, 11 year old twins. Um, so not a whole lot of free time. Um, they are really active in swimming, so I really love to watch them swimming year round. Um, love to get outdoors. I mean, this time of year, you know, it’s it could be freezing one day, beautiful the next. I think we’re going to have a 60 degree day today. So getting outside is my passion. Um, really connecting with people, building relationships. I’ve always been a relationship people person. I thrive on that. That kind of fills my cup. So it really is a natural fit from a personal and professional perspective.

Stone Payton: [00:11:58] Yeah. That’s fun. So my listeners know that I like to hunt, fish and travel and I’m very blessed. I get to do a lot of all of that, uh, and still get to get to do this. But I for me personally, and maybe you find this, too. It’s, uh, I need that white space. I need that, and I feel like I come back recharged and ready to, you know, attack the rigors of the media business. Absolutely. Same for you.

Kelly Graffius : [00:12:22] Yeah, for sure, for sure.

Stone Payton: [00:12:24] And it’s interesting to ask because, I mean, I have asked that question and I mean, I’ve had people, you know, that that are like, uh, not professional, but like a trapeze artist, like they, they go take trapeze classes or, you know, I mean, it’s as wild as that. It’s it’s interesting. Yeah. Or they’ll be a musician or, you know, and you would just never imagine or they’ll be like part of the Atlanta Symphony, like, really high level, you know, musician or singer. So it’s always interesting to, to find out. All right. Let’s talk a little bit more about getting involved. There’s sponsorship. Uh, and we’ll make sure that we, uh, create an easy path for people to learn all about that. But, uh, there’s also probably opportunities to to volunteer or to. Yeah, just walk us through some of the different ways to participate.

Kelly Graffius : [00:13:09] Absolutely. So number one is come to our programing, come listen to the amazing resources that we have lined up for this year. We meet once a month, third Thursday of the month in the evening. And um, but yes, we’re always looking for sponsors, but then volunteers who can help with the programing and opportunities. If you have a passion for serving that population, you know, reach out and maybe we can get you on on one of the programing as a speaker or a sponsor or a, you know, a highlighted guest.

Stone Payton: [00:13:40] Well, Cherokee Business Radio is going to is definitely going to explore the sponsorship opportunity. But and I’m also I sky at church like I have no particular skills you know. Yeah. Yeah. But I am a guy that does not mind running to the store and getting the ice for whatever’s going on. Right. Perfect.

Kelly Graffius : [00:13:56] So we need an ice guy.

Stone Payton: [00:13:57] You need ice guy, right?

Speaker4: [00:13:58] Yes, indeed.

Stone Payton: [00:14:00] Uh, so I wonder, before we wrap, I wonder if we could share a few tips. Just, uh, you know, like, for the adult child, like for, like for me and Russ just to be. And you touched on a couple earlier, but just a few tips to just start. You know something we should be reading, something we should be doing, not doing, just to start getting ready and setting the right foundation for going into these years that we’re headed for. Absolutely.

Kelly Graffius : [00:14:26] Um, definitely. First, have that conversation on a really nice random, you know, Tuesday morning or afternoon over margaritas or bourbon, um, with your parents really lay that groundwork of, hey, what does the future hold? How do you see yourself aging? Does that look like staying at home for as long as you can? Um, there’s lots of resources on our website that has articles, and there’s a whole library of programing from other chapters that is, um, can be a great resource. Our first program is going to speak of local resources in the Cobb and Cherokee counties. So getting involved with the senior centers, that’s a great place to start. There’s lots of programing there that can offer different topics and activities for your parents, getting them involved, but really making sure that they are as engaged as possible. They have those high. And those interests and they’re they they’re maintaining those things. And then, of course, their safety and their well-being in their home is important, too.

Stone Payton: [00:15:29] Fantastic. I’m glad I asked. Yeah. All right. What’s the best way for people to learn more? Get in touch. It sounds like there’s a website. Maybe there’s some social handles. Let’s give them some points of contact. Absolutely.

Kelly Graffius : [00:15:39] So Facebook, um, Acap Cobb and Cherokee come out and like us, there’s lots of information there, different topics and articles and things. But then also all the information on how to attend one of our chapters. We do have a website as well. So Acap Cobb and cherokee.com. And then reach out to myself or my co coordinator Christian. We’re happy to always, uh, you know, answer questions, answer the phone, answer emails, whatever you need. And we can elaborate on what we offer.

Stone Payton: [00:16:09] Well, Kelli, it has been an absolute delight having you in the studio this morning. And let’s, uh, let’s let’s do this again as you get this chapter up and running. Let’s come back and get an update. It, uh, it might be fun to bring maybe a sponsor to and we can spotlight their business, but we can also talk about their, uh, their motivation and what they feel like they’re they’re getting from being involved. That might be a fun kind of special episode if you’re. I love it up for that. Yeah, but you’re doing important work, and we sure appreciate you. Thank you.

Kelly Graffius : [00:16:41] Oh, thank you, Stone. Thanks for having us. This is fun.

Stone Payton: [00:16:44] My pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Kelli Grapheus with Acap Cobb and Cherokee and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you again on Cherokee Business Radio.