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Griswald Home Care
Celebrates 40th Birthday and Launches National Caregiver Scholarship Program
The in-home senior-care brand celebrates turning 40 in 2022 by paying it forward, offering up to $2,000 to qualified caregivers who intend to further their education in a care-related field.
Meeting critical homecare needs for seniors has been at the heart of Griswold Home Care since its founding 40 years ago, which is why it’s no surprise that the Jean Griswold Foundation is continuing that mission by launching a National Caregiver Scholarship Program. At least five scholarships will be awarded to qualified caregivers throughout the year.
“We’re so grateful to the caregivers and excited about being able to support them in their careers,” says Maryanne Murray, chairperson of the Jean Griswold Foundation.
“It’s our way of supporting passionate individuals who can help carry on Dr. Jean’s legacy of care.” Dr. Jean Griswold, affectionately known as “Dr. Jean,” began Griswold Home Care in 1982 after being confined to a wheelchair due to a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. She understood all too well the desire for adults with disabilities, illness and injuries to remain comfortably at home while receiving care. Today, the brand has since grown to more than 170 independent franchise units in 30 states. In 2010, Dr. Jean took her mission to give back further and started the foundation as a private nonprofit to support caregiving organizations in times of hardship. Until this year, funds raised through private donors, corporations, franchisees and employees had been primarily awarded to individuals and programs dedicated to senior care – such as Meals on Wheels, Lutheran Social Services and other nonprofits that “supported our mission of aging with dignity,” Murray says – but
the intention was always to offer a way for caregivers to improve their ability to pursue care-related work. It took the foundation more than a year to navigate the legal process of changing to a public charity so that it could award individual grants.
Murray, who has been with Griswold Home Care for more than 20 years, says she learned home care from “the master herself.” After working for Dr. Jean at the Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, office in the early 2000s, Murray longed to be an owner for the brand. She eventually bought the Delaware territory, and soon after won Franchise of the Year from the International Franchise Association, as well as the SBA Delaware’s Person of the Year award in 2005. Maryanne is currently supporting her daughter, Erin Pickrell, as she develops the Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Maryland, territory for Griswold.
To expand on the foundation’s goals for caregivers, which include raising additional funding to increase the number and dollar amount of scholarships offered, Murray says they are actively searching for a full time executive director who will help to advance the cause. “The scholarships will set us apart from other homecare agencies, and will help us recruit caregivers, too,” she adds. “It’s also a good way to distinguish ourselves during a time of caregiver shortages and so much competition.” Scholarship applicants don’t have to be associated with Griswold Home Care in order to be considered; they simply need to start the application process. Once awarded, funds will be paid directly to the institution where the caregiver will be receiving education. Murray says she hopes that more people will decide to pursue the rewarding career of in-home care for seniors and the differently abled. “I changed my life for the better when I started working with Griswold, and I want everyone to feel that way about their jobs,” she says.
