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The dream of
grandparents is to have a loving and continuous relationship with their
grandchildren and, after each joyful visit, send them home to the welcoming arms
of their parents where their well being is secure. Fortunately, for thousands
of grandparents that is exactly the case and we wish them their good fortune
and hope it continues for the rest of their days. However, for thousands of
other grandparents the situation is very different. In some cases our
grandchildren's parents are addicted to drugs or alcohol, or they are
mentally ill. Perhaps our grandchildren were cared for by a single parent and
us and now that parent has died due to an accident, illness, or tragic events
of the World Trade Center catastrophe and we find ourselves immersed in our
court system. Or perhaps we are caring for our grandchildren until adulthood
but have no financial or legal support from the local and statewide agencies
that serve our communities. Consequently, for many of us, our financial
resources are severely depleted forcing a number of us into poverty. Each of
our grandparent/kin committee members knows first hand some of these
conditions as do over 4 million grandparents nationwide. Our coalition
enables individuals and or grandparent/kin support groups to work with one
another to ensure that our grandchildren have the opportunity to have a safe
and stable childhood. As Abraham Lincoln stated "You are never so tall as
when you stoop to help a child." Let us stoop to help our grandchildren
at risk. We have forty one chapters in the United States and members in every state. |
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International Chapters
include The New
Zealand organization Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust. www.raisinggrandchildren.org.nz
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Partners in our efforts
include: Brookdale
Center on the Aging Child Abuse Abduction Case Assist Harvey Shapiro (www.caseassist.com) National Association of Former Foster Care Children of America, Inc. |