Step by Step

A Quarterly Newsletter/Issue 3

September is National Kinship Care Month.  It is a time to recognize and honor relative caregivers, each one of whom is an everyday hero to a child who has faced the uncertainty of not knowing who will step up to take care of them when their parents can’t.  In the United States, there are well over 2.7 million grandparents and other relative caregivers, including over 12,000 grandparents raising grandchildren in New Hampshire.  Studies show that keeping a child with a relative when they are removed from their biological parents helps to mitigate past trauma and reduces future trauma.  At Step Up Parents, we celebrate kinship caregivers and their families every day. We hope you will join us in raising awareness and supporting their efforts with our Annual Appeal this month.

Spotlight

Often, new seasons mean new beginnings.  We are grateful that schools are beginning this year with in-person learning.  Last year, virtual-learning presented significant challenges for many kinship families, half of which are headed by grandparent caregivers who are age 60+ . For some, remote learning meant a 24/7 schedule of caretaking responsibilities, combined with a crash course in unfamiliar online technology.  For others, staying home with children meant lost wages and loss of access to resources.  For all, the pandemic meant uncertainly and additional stress.

Like many heroes, our kinship caregivers persevered and stepped up in ways and in roles, none of us could have imagined.  Their requests for assistance reflected the physical, mental and emotional needs of the children in their care.  Often times, playing sports and taking lessons are therapeutic and have positive impacts especially on children who have suffered trauma. 

Our Newest Team Member

Our Families

This year to date, Step Up Parents has given financial assistance to 63 deserving families.  Since we began our mission in 2019, we have helped 175 kinship families and distributed funds of almost $70,000.  We anticipate an uptick in applications in the coming months as Covid-related unemployment benefits expire and the eviction moratorium is lifted in early October for all counties in New Hampshire.  

Hopefully schools will remain open for in-person learning, but Covid is a constant threat to a family’s well-being, especially for those with young children who are not yet able to be vaccinated.  Step Up Parents will be there to help - recognizing more than ever that “Even heroes need a hand”.

Our Donors & Supporters

In conjunction with September marking National Kinship Care Month, it is also the time of year for our Annual Appeal.  Letters will be going out to our existing donors, and we hope to attract new supporters. The appeal is a critical component of our fundraising efforts, especially in light of the anticipated increase in applications for financial assistance for the remaining months of 2021 and into 2022. 

Thank you to The Fabulous Find for selecting us as its recognized charity in June. They donated a remarkable $6,247. We also want to give special thanks to Piscataqua Savings Bank for partnering with us again this year to sponsor our first Ice Cream Social event. They were our first corporate sponsor and have supported us for the last three years. Thank you also to Fedpoint for their participation in making our Ice Cream Social a success. We are also grateful for community organizations like the Rotary Clubs of Londonderry and Hampton and the Knights of Columbus, Council #4442, for their recent donations.

We are looking forward to SEPTEMBER 27 - the date of the Seacoast Board of Realtors Annual Charity Golf Outing in support of Step Up Parents. Our community partnerships are the lynchpin to our success. We truly appreciate their support and recognize that, together, we can do so much for the kinship caregivers of New Hampshire. THANK YOU!