2019 Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Annual Conference

The October 25, 2019 Annual GRG Conference held at the Woodlands was a huge success, according to officials of the NEPA Intergenerational Coalition. This was the 13th annual conference with the 14th being planned for October 16, 202 at the same location. The event on October 25 featured Scott Schaffer the keynoter, who was raised by his grandparents. Scott is the chief news anchor at WNEP, the ABC television network station regionally. Also, featured was Robert Torres, Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging, who welcomed the 200 plus delegates and outlined the role of his agency in assisting the GRG community in the Commonwealth. He headed three Grand family sessions held in Harrisburg which enabled Cabinet level officials to present information about their support services and enabled the grandparent family to receive and comment on ideas and services required by the GRG family. Several GRG family representatives from this region attended. Also, featured at the Conference was State Representative Eddie Day Pashinski who outlined what has occurred since passage of his sponsored legislation for the GRG family in Pennsylvania. In addition, State Representative Karen Boback was present and handed out a new report she prepared titled “Grandparents Raising Grandchildren” which highlights a Resource and Legislative Guide of importance to the GRG community.

In addition, there were two panel presentations that spoke to “Knowing Your Resources” in the morning and “ Other Resources for GRG” in the afternoon. The Conference was closed By Rabbi Larry Kaplan of Temple Israel in Wilkes-Barre.