A south Mississippi nonprofit is searching for people to adopt a grandparent in Pearl River County.

Organizers of the local Adopt a Grandparent Day are struggling to find volunteers in Pearl River County to participate in the 6^th annual event, said Kathy Rogers, the organization’s founder and board president.

The group will arrange for volunteers in six counties to visit seniors in 34 nursing homes on September 7—the Saturday before national Grandparents Day, Rogers said. In Pearl River County, volunteers will visit two facilities in Picayune and one in Poplarville, she said.

Volunteers of any age can sign up to visit a nursing home, where they will play games and visit with residents, Rogers said. The event is designed to show seniors in nursing homes that they are valued and supported, Rogers said.

“You go thinking that you’re going to make a difference in their lives, but you find out that it changes your heart and your life to go,” Rogers said.

The goal of Adopt a Grandparent Day is to give volunteers an opportunity to make a connection with seniors in their community, with the hope that volunteers will choose to come back and visit that person on their own, Rogers said.

The nonprofit is trying to find 800 volunteers throughout the six counties, Rogers said.

Volunteers can sign up to visit one facility for an hour on September 7 at a scheduled time, Rogers said. Online registration opens on August 2 at adoptagrandparentday.org.