February Vacation Bags for Grandparents

Right at Home Boston and North Community Relations team, Celeste and Victoria, are actively involved in the Breakfast Exchange Club of Greater Haverhill group. The group is made up of health care professionals across the Merrimack Valley who share the common goal to keep seniors safe and supported in the community. The purpose of the group, is to advocate for seniors in the Greater Haverhill Area by raising funds, creating awareness and support through heating assistance, food and housing. The group meets the second and last Tuesday of each month at Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill, MA. There are currently 15 active members in the group.

When it comes to raising grandchildren, over 5 million children across America live with their grandparents, as the mothers and fathers struggle with a variety of issues such as financial difficulties, addiction, domestic violence, divorce and more.

As many of us know, February Vacation just passed, Feb 19th-Feb 23rd in Massachusetts. For many seniors in Haverhill, they are the sole caregivers for their grandchildren. To support grandparents caring for their grandkids in Haverhill, our group organized a project to make February Vacation a fun time for both grandparents and grandchildren.

One of our winter projects, is the February Vacation Bags project. Each member donated 10 food items to fill the bags. During our February 13th group meeting, each member helped to fill the bags with the donated items. We filled a total of 10 bags. Our members filled each bag with snacks, coloring activities, gift cards, and movie tickets.

With our National Exchange Project, in mind we made sure to include resources and educational materials on child abuse prevention inside the bags.

For information on the Breakfast Exchange Club of Greater Haverhill and how you can join the group, please visit their website.