Local law enforcement agencies partner to help needy grandparents raising grandchildren

According to a recent AARP poll, more than 2.5 million grandparents nationwide are now taking on the role of a parent to their grandchildren. The State of Oklahoma ranks in the top 5 in the nation for the number of grandparents raising grandchildren.

Data from the 2009 Census reveals that 2.4 million children in the United States are being raised by a grandparent.

Through the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program (a program offered through Sunbeam’s Caregiver Fundamentals Program), grandparents will receive backpacks filled with school supplies for their grandchildren to start the upcoming school year.

The Midwest City Police Department, Oklahoma City Police Department, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department, TRIAD volunteers, Areawide Aging Agency, Oklahoma Recyclers Association and other community partners will work together with Sunbeam Family Services to fill backpacks for the 430 grandchildren that will be served this school year.

The backpacks will be distributed to the grandfamilies the last week of July. Sunbeam Family Services’ volunteers, the Midwest City Police Department, Oklahoma City Police Department, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department, and TRIAD volunteers will be stuffing the backpacks at 10 a.m. Monday, July 23, at Sunbeam's office, 616 NW 21.

For more than 100 years, Sunbeam Family Services has served central Oklahoma’s most vulnerable citizens. Sunbeam's mission is to provide affordable, quality social services which result in improved individual and family functioning.