Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust NZ
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The Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) Trust was established in November 2001 after a need was identified by a group of grandparents who found their role as the primary caregiver of their grandchildren both unique and stressful and who were often isolated from the rest of the community by the burden of the responsibility they had undertaken. Many of these grandparents found themselves unable to access adequate financial and moral support from the state services to meet the needs of their often severely traumatised grandchildren.
The purpose of the Trust is to provide support and assistance to grandparents who are primary caregivers to their grandchildren in difficult circumstances. The children often come from homes where the parents have been abusive, neglectful, violent, mentally ill or were substance abusers. The children might have witnessed incidents of adult behaviour which were violent and abusive and unacceptable in normal society. As a direct result of their experiences, the children are often emotionally and scholastically behind in their development when they are placed with their grandparents.
The grandparents are usually older people often retired and on low fixed incomes. Sometimes they have their own health problems such as arthritis, or heart disease, and they have lower energy levels than younger people. Many of them care for their grandchildren on their own. They might have moved from a larger family home into a two-bedroom unit before taking on their grandchildren and now find it difficult to provide suitable accommodation for them. The GRG Trust has 46 Support Groups located nationwide all run by volunteers.
Winning a donation from Sovereign will help us achieve:
Information and support – these are the two key things that our grandparents, who raise their grandchildren on a full-time basis, need and look forward to receiving every month in our newsletter. Our grandparents raise grandchildren who have often come from traumatic backgrounds - removed from broken homes, subject to parental alcohol and drug abuse, and sadly verbal and physical abuse too. Our Grandparents become “parents” for a second time while dealing with the challenges of health problems, legal fees, and parenting children of a very different generation.
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust NZ publishes a monthly newsletter which currently reaches 4,238 caregivers across New Zealand, by both post and e-mail. Every month grandparents can sit down, put their feet up and read inspiring anecdotes from other grandparents, parenting tips from specialists, information on family law changes and new government department and welfare protocols. Says one grandparent:
“I have just read another GREAT GRG newsletter with the usual valuable information. Thank you. I look forward to receiving it every month. It’s comforting to know other grandparents experience some of the same issues/concerns my husband I encounter in raising our granddaughter who is 10 and a half. We no longer feel isolated.”
Our Trust urgently needs your help in funding our newsletter. As many of our grandparents do not have email, a significant number receive their newsletter by post and we do not have enough funding to cover our costs in this area. Please help us continue to provide this valuable service to our members.
Our details:
| Registration No: | CC20205 |
| Region: | Hawke's Bay/East Coast, Waikato/Bay of Plenty/Rotorua, Manawatu/Wanganui/Kapiti, Northland, Taranaki, Wellington, Auckland, Central Auckland, South Auckland, North Auckland, West Auckland, East Auckland, Canterbury/South Canterbury, Southland, West Coast, Nelson/Marlborough |
| Category: | Parental advice and support |
| Contact Person: | Rosemarie Dawson (Secretary to the Board) |
| Address: | PO Box 34-892, Birkenhead 0746, Auckland |
| Telephone: | (09) 419 0042 |
| Email: | rosemarie@grg.org.nz |
| Website: | www.grg.org.nz |
| No. helped nationally: | 3500 |
| No. helped per project: | 100 children |
