September 8 was National Grandparents Day. You may not have even realized it – since unlike Mother’s Day, this is still a little-known holiday. But Caring Across Generations and our partners across the country are working to change this! We think this holiday is an important one to elevate and celebrate as an opportunity to honor our country’s elders and put forth our vision of building a system of quality care for all.
In dozens of cities across the country, community organizations and Jobs with Justice coalitions organized events to honor grandparents. In Banghor, Maine, Food and Medicine hosted an arts station at their annual Labor Day celebration for children to make cards for their Grandparents and for Senator Collins. Later in the week, they delivered the card to Senator Collins, urging her to stand with grandparents by supporting Senate Resolution 128.
In Chicago, Latino Union, Arise Chicago, and Chicago Jobs with Justice teamed up with the Chicago Temple to honor caregivers who themselves are grandparents. Xia Williams presented a giant “Happy Grandparents Day” card to her mother, Lisa Thomas, a grandparent and a caregiver of more than 20 years, who is now on the frontlines to win a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights in Illinois. The event closed with choir members of the Filipino American Grand Parents Association serenading the crowd with “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”
For so many of us, our Grandparents have helped raise us, have taught us invaluable life lessons, and inspire us to fight for a care system that truly upholds the dignity of those who need care and those who provide it.
