Free Diapers Program
Sandwich Families And Elder Care
You are in the middle of two generations with different needs. The demands of your children are pulling you in one direction. The expectations of your parent or parents is tugging on your other emotional arm. You are officially part of the growing number of sandwich families.
At the last Parent-Teacher meeting at our elementary school there were six grandparents present. The adjustments can be tough for every member of the family. Parents have done a lot of sharing after the school meetings and it has seeded a small support group. We all face common logistic and relationship challenges.
Our group has been providing help making meals and serving food at church once a week. On the weekends we collect donations to support hot meals at the Aging Americans Center in our community. Folks can drop off or we will pick up donations. We discovered that many businesses and cube stores actually have a budget for supporting non-profit efforts in their community. This has been a huge boon.
We did several events to raise funds for the program. We sold chances to win hdtv plasma tvs during the past year. A kitchenaid food processor was the drawing prize for supporting businesses in town. Lots of small appliances were donated to our massive indoor bazaar including a delonghi space heater.
One couple shared the dynamic of having a child and a parent that used diapers. There was lots of talk about the 'reality check'. Critical grandmothers are not always appreciated by today's teen. Conflicts can arise from comments about clothes, makeup, and music. One parent talked about the 'trigger' words list in their home.
Now it is trips to soccer games and to the pharmacy to fill prescriptions. One menu is planned for family mealtime and another menu tailored to the grandparent. Special beverages and ingredients become important too.
We are continuing are efforts to support hot meals at the center. This winter we are adding home delivered meals for shut-in seniors. The food is all being prepared in the kitchen at the center. Volunteers transport the meals in their personal vehicles.
Everyone who volunteers knows that they deliver more than hot food. They are providing the nourishment of human contact. The volunteer may be the only companionship that person experiences all week. Our 'small group' is now reaching out to other circles like ours to combine our elder care efforts. We have a formed a vision team to look ahead to identify upcoming needs and consider solutions.
How Low Income Families Can Get Free Diapers
Tags: free diapers program
This entry was posted on Sunday, January 30th, 2011 at 9:09 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.