National Grandparents Day is Coming Up!

Mark your calendars! This Sunday, September 7th, is National Grand Parents Day:

Photo credit: S P Photography / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

A holiday dedicated to honoring all grandparents, but Founder Marian McQuade also wanted this holiday to be an opportunity for grandparents to show love for their grandchildren and “help children become aware of the strength, information and guidance older people can offer. ”

In 1978, National Grandparents Day became a national holiday recognized and celebrated ever since President Jimmy Carter signed a federal proclamation, making the first Sunday after Labor Day, National Grandparents Day!

Considering nearly 1 in 10 children int he U.S. live with their grandparents, this holiday is truly a special one!

Please spread the word and love for all grandparents out there in the world! #grandparentsday

Please go check out the Founder’s Website [http://www.grandparents-day.com or click the underlined link] to learn more about National Grandparents Day and how it all began!

Here are just a summary of the facts you can find on her website:

1970: Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade (founder) started a campaign to set aside a special day just for Grandparents.
A mother of 15 children, 40 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren, Marian McQuade and her team spent the next five years expanding her campaign from the grassroots (churches, businesses, local political leaders) until it reached statewide attention.
“Mrs. McQuade and her team sent letters to churches, businesses, and numerous national organizations interested in senior citizens. In 1978, five years after its West Virginia inception, the United StatesCongress passed legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. The proclamation was signed by President Jimmy Carter. (September was chosen for the holiday, to signify the “autumn years” of life.)”
Marian also wanted to include the elderly who are not fortunate to have families to celebrate this holiday with and encouraged “parents, churches, schools, and senior organizations, help children to adopt a grandparent” and make a homebound elderly or shut-in a Foster Parent today!