Dear WISER Community,
Let me start by expressing my gratitude for your continued support.
Thank you for your donations. Our WISER Women campaign exceeded our goal and raised $5,780.
Thank you for the time you give reading our emails and for the kind words of support you send. Your support energizes Himaja, Jerry, and me to continue serving WISER’s mission.
In August, we received a $30K grant from the Tara Health Foundation. Iris Kuo, our program officer, has been a steadfast advocate/supporter, connecting WISER with other nonprofit organizations advocating for workplace equality, and providing opportunities to elevate our voice and mission.
I am grateful to Himaja for successfully establishing a partnership with her alma mater Virginia Commonwealth University’s Financial Aid Office, which allows WISER to hire work-study students.
Thank You!
National Grandparents Day
“A child needs a grandparent, anybody’s grandparent, to grow a little more securely into an unfamiliar world.” — Charles and Ann Morse.
This Sunday is National Grandparents Day. In 2021, there were 2.1 million grandparents who were heads of household with a grandchild; 69% of these households, 1.45 million, had grandchildren under 18 years of age. Sixty-four thousand grandparents lived with a child but were not head of the household (See Table 1).
Table 1. Grandparents by Household Status
A new Journal of the American Medical Association study found that 10.5 million children worldwide had lost a parent or caretaker, and 7.5 million children in the United States were orphaned due to COVID-19. Although estimates suggest that 614,000 grandparents in the United States have died from COVID-19, this is likely an underestimate. Moreover, it will be difficult to quantify how the lives of a generation of orphaned children’s children will be different without grandparents.
If you are a grandparent, we celebrate you. If you have a living grandparent, please take a moment to celebrate them.
Also, on Sunday, please take a moment to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11/2001, many of whom died before they could become grandparents.
Thank you for your continued support,
Rhonda
