Cape May Court House, NJ – If you are the primary caregiver for your grandchild, we invite you to come learn about Rutgers Cooperative Extension Family and Community Health Sciences’ Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group. The first meeting of the new year will take place on Wednesday, January 16, 2019 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County, 355 Courthouse-South Dennis Road, Cape May Court House, New Jersey. New families are always welcome and childcare is provided. A light supper will be served at 5:30 p.m. and the program will follow at 6 p.m.
To kick off the new year, this meeting provides grandparents who are raising their grandchildren the opportunity to hear directly from other grandparents who are in the same position as they share their stories and experiences with the group. Marilou Rochford, FCHS Health Educator said, “In addition to providing grandparents with information and resources they need to help them raise their grandchildren, one of benefits of this program is that grandparents learn they are not alone.”
The group meets 10 times a year and has been providing educational and social support to grandparents in Cape May County who are raising their grandchildren since 1999. The goals of the group are to strengthen family relationships, provide educational programs, identify community resources, and improve the quality of life for families. Rochford added, “I created the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group twenty years ago to educate and support this underserved and growing population. Our grandparents are dealing with many new challenges and one of our goals is to be a source of information and support for them in this endeavor.”
One way we accomplish this is by developing programs based on an annual needs assessment survey. Expert speakers present on topics that include custody, adoption, and guardianship, parenting the second time around, health, nutrition, and wellness, bullying and cyber safety, and drug and alcohol abuse and its impact on families including the trauma it creates. In addition to these serious topics, there are also annual family events such as the Back to School Bash and Family Wellness Night.
There is no charge for this program, however, advanced registration is required by January 11, 2019. Please call Marian at (609) 465-5115, ext. 3609 for more information or to register for the January 16th program.
Support for this program is provided by the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Cape May County Division of Aging and Disability Services, and Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County educational programs are offered to all without regard to race, religion, color, age, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.