Spring 2016

GRG of Brevard

Spring 2016 GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN OF BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA INC.

ISSUE # 164

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We had a great year last year and hoping for just as good a year in 2016. We had a wonderful picnic with over 100 people attending. More than 200 children received Christmas presents.

Also we supplied over 50 children with backpacks and school supplies.

Our membership is over 900 members and growing. We are hoping for some legislative changes this year and we have to join together to make this happen. Please attend support group meetings to find out how we hope to accomplish these changes.

Thanks to everyone who assisted in making the Children’s Holiday Party fun for all our grandchildren, a very special thanks to our Santa, Jonathan Hawes. For assistance with our Christmas Toys and gifts we must thank:  Kid’s Without Christmas  The Elks Club  Toys for Tots  Brevard County Sherriff’s Dept.  Brevard Sharing Center  United Way of Brevard We are wishing each and every one hope for a wonderful 2016. Our organization is growing every day and it is because of you. Thank you also for your response to our membership drive.

Your participation is greatly appreciated.

SONNY'S BBQ FUNDRAISER On Monday April 11th evening, bring your family and friends to either of the following locations: 2900 Cheney Hwy, Titusville, or 1020 Malabar Rd., SE, Palm Bay for a delicious BBQ dinner, 10% of your bill will be donated to Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. We will have fliers available for you to pick up and pass out to friends and family. You will need to present the flyer to the server for us to get the donation. If you have questions please call Karen at 631-7776.

IT'S TIME TO BE A PARENT AGAIN GRG is sponsoring a presentation made by Sheriff Wayne Ivey and State Attorney, Phil Archer on March 14, 2016 - 9:30 am - noon Lunch provided by the Sheriff's Dept.

Join us at the Bill Posey Conference Center 2555 Judge Fran Jamieson Way Viera, FL 32940 RSVP by calling 321-631-7776 Please make every effort to attend, we are hoping for a large crowd.

[Pick the date] [Edition 1, Volume 1]

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Issue 164

GRG of Brevard

E-NEWSLETTER In an effort to reduce budget the newsletter will be available soft copy on the website, email and hard copies will be available at support group meetings only.

If you would like to receive an online version of our newsletter? Please send an email to grg.brevard@gmail.com and include your name, email address and mailing address to insure we update your record accordingly!

THE STATE OF GRANDFAMILIES IN AMERICA Taken from the "Generations United - 2015" brochure. This article is being included so GRG of Brevard can see that our situation is a National Problem!

7.8 MILLION CHILDREN LIVE IN GRANDFAMILIES, WHERE GRANDPARENTS OR OTHER RELATIVES ARE THE HOUSEHOLDERS. For the purpose of this report grandfamilies are families where grandparents or other relatives step forward to raise children when parents are unable to care for them. Sometimes a parent is still living in the household but not providing for most of the basic needs of a child, such as a teen parent. In other instances, grandparents receive a call in the middle of the night from child protective services and become full-time, sole caregivers to their grandchildren in a matter hours. While grandparents are more often the relative that steps in, these scenarios also play out with aunts, uncles, older siblings, and even close family friends.

Grandfamilies are diverse and come together for a variety of reasons - including parental job loss, out of state employment, military deployment, divorce, deportation, illness, death, substance abuse, incarceration, or mental illness. Grandfamilies live in every area in the country, and represent all income levels, all races, and all ethnicities.

Grandparents or other relatives often take on the care of children with little or no chance to plan in advance. Consequently, they typically face unique challenges. Many caregivers lack a legal relationship to the children and cannot access education enrollment, school services, immunizations or health care on their behalf. Others may have a legal relationship, but taking on sudden caregiving responsibilities often means they do not have suitable housing. Many caregivers are in their prime retirement savings years and rather than continuing to save, they find themselves providing for their grandchildren. For retired caregivers living on a fixed income, they may not have the finances to take on the many extra expenses of raising children.

Primary Needs Identified by Relative Caregivers:  CHILD CARE  SUPPORT GROUPS(S) FOR CAREGIVERS  FINANCIAL SUPPORT  LEGAL ASSISTANCE  MEDICAL CARE  INFORMATION ABOUT PROGRAM AND  EDUCATION ASSISTANCE FOR CHILDREN SERVICES  COUNSELING FOR CHILDREN

NOTE FROM MARY ANN Our goal is to provide as much support as possible for grandparents raising grandchildren in Brevard County. Our attendance has been down at the Melbourne Support Group held at Memaw's Restaurant, 600 E. Eau Gallie Blvd, Indian Harbour Beach and the night meeting held at Memaw's Restaurant, 4916 Babcock Blvd, Palm Bay. If you live in either of these areas please try to attend. The food is great and the company is even better.

Also please note that the Titusville Support Group Meeting has changed its date and location. The meeting will now be held at the Indian River City United Methodist Church located at 1355 Cheney Hwy, Titusville at 9:30 AM on the first Friday of each month. Any questions please contact 631-7776.

It would be appreciated if you could send a thank you note to the Elks Club and Kids Without Christmas.

They would love to hear from us.

Also please let me take this opportunity to thank the GRG members for my wonderful Christmas present.

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Issue 164

GRG of Brevard

Support Group Meetings SOMETHING TO POST IN YOUR HOME - HIGHLIGHT YOUR SUPPORT GROUP

March Friday, March 4th – Titusville Support Group Meeting Indian River City United Methodist Church, 1355 Cheney Hwy. Titusville 9:30-10:00 am (This meeting is always the first Friday of each month) Wednesday, MARCH 9th – Parenting Again Survival Training with Cliff Valentine Indian River City United Methodist Church, 1355 Cheney Hwy. Titusville 10:30-11:30 am Thursday, March 10th – Club Esteem Support Group Meeting Club Esteem 3316 Monroe Street, Melbourne 10:00 – 11:30 am.

(This meeting is always the second Thursday of each month) Tuesday, March 15th – Central Brevard Support Group GRG of Brevard Office, 123 Barton Blvd, Rockledge 9:30 -11:00 am (This meeting is always the third Tuesday of each month) Wednesday, March 16th – South Brevard Support Group Meeting Memaw’s Restaurant, 4916 Babcock Blvd, Palm Bay 6:00 – 7:30 pm (Dinner is available at member's expense) (This meeting is always the third Wednesday of each month) Thursday, March 31st – Beach Side Support Group Memaw’s Restaurant, Indian Harbour Beach, 9:30 – 11:30 am (Breakfast is available at member's expense) (This meeting is always the last Thursday of each month) April Friday, April 1st – Titusville Support Group Meeting Indian River City United Methodist Church, 1355 Cheney Hwy. Titusville 9:30-11:00 am Thursday, April 14th – Club Esteem Support Group Meeting Club Esteem 3316 Monroe Street, Melbourne 10:00 – 11:30 am.

Tuesday, April 19th – Central Brevard Support Group GRG of Brevard Office, 123 Barton Blvd, Rockledge 9:30 -11:00 am Wednesday, April 20th – South Brevard Support Group Meeting Memaw’s Restaurant, 4916 Babcock Blvd, Palm Bay 6:00 – 7:30 pm Thursday, April 28th – Beach Side Support Group Memaw’s Restaurant, Indian Harbour Beach, 9:30 – 11:30 am May Friday, May 6th – Titusville Support Group Meeting Indian River City United Methodist Church, 1355 Cheney Hwy. Titusville 9:30-11:00 am Wednesday, May 11th - Parenting Again Survival Training with Cliff Valentine Indian River City United Methodist Church, 1355 Cheney Hwy. Titusville 10:30-11:30 am Thursday, May 12th – Club Esteem Support Group Meeting Club Esteem 3316 Monroe Street, Melbourne 10:00 – 11:30 am.

Tuesday, May 17th – Central Brevard Support Group GRG of Brevard Office, 123 Barton Blvd, Rockledge 9:30 -11:00 am Wednesday, May 18th – South Brevard Support Group Meeting Memaw’s Restaurant, 4916 Babcock Blvd, Palm Bay 6:00 – 7:30 pm Thursday, May 26th – Beach Side Support Group

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Issue 164

10 TIPS TO HELP CHILDREN DEVELOP HEALTHY HABITS Be a good role model – If kids see you eating right and getting physically active, they’ll take notice of your efforts to send a message that good health is important.

Keep things positive – Celebrate successes and help children and teens develop a good self-image.

Get the whole family moving – Take walks, ride bikes, go swimming, or just play hide-and-seek outside.

Everyone will benefit from the exercise and the time together.

Be realistic – Setting realistic goals and limits are key to adopting new behavior. Small steps and gradual changes can make a big difference in your health over time, so start small and build up.

Limit TV, video game and computer time – These habits lead to a sedentary lifestyle and excessive snacking, which increase risks for obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Encourage physical activities that they’ll really enjoy – Let your child experiment with different activities until they find something that they really love doing. They’ll stick with it longer if they love it.

Pick truly rewarding rewards – Don’t reward children with TV, video games, candy or snacks. Find other ways to celebrate good behavior.

Make dinnertime a family time – When everyone sits down together to eat, there’s less chance of children eating the wrong foods or snacking too much. Get your kids involved in cooking and planning meals.

Everyone develops good eating habits together and the quality time with the family will be an added bonus.

Make a game of reading food labels – The whole family will learn what’s good for their health and be more conscious of what they eat.

Stay involved – Be an advocate for healthier children.

Insist on good food choices at school. Make sure your children’s healthcare providers are monitoring cardiovascular indicators like BMI, blood pressure and cholesterol.

GRG of Brevard

TWO DECADES For more than 20 years, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard (GRG) has provided support, training and advocacy to meet the special needs of relative care families, who provide safe, stable and nurturing homes for relative children.

It’s our mission and we believe in it with all our hearts.

How we provide support, training and advocacy varies depending on the needs of families. We offer a variety of services, from person-to-person support to parenting classes on litany of relevant topics. We hold five monthly Support Group meetings throughout all of Brevard County. We’re on the Internet, Facebook, and Twitter we have newsletters to provide information and assistance.

Moving forward, we’ll continue these services while creating new and innovative ways to reach and assist relative care families. This year, we want to show you (and the rest of our community) what a difference relative caregivers make. We want to raise awareness of the children and youth. We want to feature relative care families changing the lives of those children in need and we want to showcase how our services can help you along the way.

INTERNET SAFETY TIPS The internet can be a good way to chat with friends, do research for school, and lots of other things. But it can also be a dangerous place.   

  

Never give out private information such as my name, family, address, school name or phone number on the Internet.

When in chat rooms, social networking websites and even instant messaging, remember, not everyone is who they say they are.

Predators will post a fake picture to pretend to be someone else. Do not plan to meet anyone you have met on the internet without first checking with your parents, as you could put yourself in grave danger.

Never send a picture of yourself to someone you chat with on the computer without asking your grandparent.

If someone harasses you online, do not respond.

Tell your grandparents and they will contact your internet service provider.

Predators attempt to lure you through the use of the internet. This is a danger to your personal safety and you should take precautions.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson Page 3

Issue 164

GRG of Brevard

The Child First!

HELP THE GRANDPARENTS AND CHILDREN OF GRG OF BREVARD BECOME A MEMBER AND/OR FRIEND Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard County FL, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

All gifts are deductible on corporate, foundation and individual tax returns to the extent provided by state and federal laws.

Members of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard County, FL, Inc. receive our newsletter and invitations to events where they can meet others in similar situations Name Date: Address:

I am raising children who are not my own I am their: [ ] Grandparent [ ] Aunt / Uncle [ ] Sister / Brother [ ] Other (please specify)

City/State: Zip: Phone:

[ ] I am not in this situation but I want to join GRG of Brevard because I am interested in what you do.

Email: [ ] Annual Membership $20 per family or $10 per caregiver [ ] Annual Corporate Membership $500 I want to be a friend of the GRG of Brevard and enclose an additional donation of: [ ] $25 [ ] $50 [ ] $75 [ ] $100 Other: $

Please make your check payable to: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard

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