Third National GrandRally – May 7, 2008
For Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children
www.grandrally.org

NEW YORK CITY AND SAN DIEGO - For the second time in as many months, grandparents' rights will be the featured topic on Retirement Living TV's popular Daily Cafe. The segment featuring the National Committee of Grandparents for Children's Rights will air live at 3:15 pm, EDT, on Thurs., Sept. 6, 2007.

From RLTV's San Diego studio, vocalist and grandparent caregiver, Patti Page, who is NCGCR's national spokesperson, will join NCGCR executive director, Brigitte Castellano, and Angela Magliozzi, NCGCR's Maryland chapter leader, in Washington, DC, to talk about the organization's leadership role in grandparent and kinship care issues and to encourage caregivers and advocates to participate in NCGCR's upcoming.Candlelight Vigil. The national vigil in support of grandparent caretakers and grandparent visitation is planned for the evening of Grandparents' Day on Sept. 9.

Retirement Living TV is an independent television network that is available on Channel 364, Mon.-Fri., 9:00am - 5:00pm, Eastern Time. RLTV is also available to Comcast cable subscribers. Summaries of RLTV segments are posted on the network's website, www.rl.tv.

Summit tours Bronx roof garden

BROOKLYN - The First International Summit for Grandparent and Kinship Caregivers brought global attention to the shared needs and issues of relative caregivers throughout the world. Summit participants gathered in Brooklyn, NY, May 6 – 8, 2007, to hear an international array of speakers and to form a new organization for future international action.

Dr. Kornhaber

From the opening tour of Presbyterian Senior Services’ GrandParent Family Apartments in The Bronx to the event’s closing plenary session, the Summit offered nonstop opportunities for networking, sharing solutions, and strengthening the growing international foundation of support for relative caregivers in the United States and around the globe.

Weaving the Summit together were the common threads in the life stories of such speakers as Betty Cornelius, who founded CanGrands in Canada; Chris Leave, who retired from a career in social work in Great Britain only to find herself faced with parenting again for her daughter’s children; and Linda Silvas, who told her first person story of the negative effects of substance abuse on Native American people in the United States. Dr. Arthur Kornhaber, an acknowledged expert on grandparent and kinship care issues, shared anecdotes and advice from his long history of practice while Judge Josefine Koblitz added the perspective of Family Court in Germany. Their stories and others echoed the common bonds of children’s needs for safety and stability balanced with the needs of adults to build and maintain strong family ties.

Patti Page

Entertainer and grandparent caregiver, Patti Page, took the stage at noon, May 9, to add her story to the mix. In a surprise announcement made later the same day, Miss Page accepted an invitation to become the spokesperson and an ex officio board member for the National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights (NCGCR).

“To say that I am overwhelmed at the accomplishments of our first Summit would be an understatement,” said Brigitte Castellano, NCGCR executive director and Summit coordinators. “I am very pleased that so many grandparents were able to attend and that by working together we were able to raise our advocacy to the next level – an international voice for children in the care of grandparents and other relatives.”

Summit participants approved the formation of the International Alliance of Relative Caregivers of Children. The new organization’s goal is to bring the needs and issues of grandparent/kinship care families to the attention of world leaders and policymakers.

VIEWS FROM THE SUMMIT:
Summit participants visit new rooftop garden that tops GrandParent Apartments in The Bronx. Dr. Arthur Kornhaber addresses closing session of the Summit.
Singer and grandparent caregiver, Patti Page, accepts invitation to be NCGCR’s spokesperson. International Summit presenters gather for a group photo.
Together for the first time, Summit participants shared stories and solutions.

The First International Summit for Grandparent and Kinship Caregivers was sponsored by the National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights, the AARP Foundation with generous support from the New York Life Foundation, Annie E. Casey Family Services, the Brookdale Foundation, Casey Family Programs, Dr. Anne Strozier, the Elias Foundation, the Florida Kinship Center – University of South Florida, GRAND Magazine, New York State Intergenerational Network, Presbyterian Senior Services, and Stony Brook University – School of Social Welfare.