The biggest Grandparents Day ever - Caring Across Generations

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The biggest Grandparents Day ever

September 15th, 2015

Category:

Updates

By Caring Across staff

What does it take to make a national holiday?

Three years ago, Caring Across Generations set an ambitious goal to turn Grandparents Day — an under-the-radar national holiday since 1978 — into a day that millions of us celebrate, with intergenerational storytelling and connection.

And this past Sunday, we broke through.

Our team worked for months to rally individuals and organizations, from the Girl Scouts and Storycorps to the internet’s most badass grandma Baddie Winkle, to celebrate the day, reminding everyone that it’s time we give Grandparents Day the attention it deserves. And dozens of our local partners across the country planned ways to connect the day to issues of caregiving and what we need to do to support our aging loved ones.

All day, we were blown away by the photos, love, memories, and stories that we saw online. From golf legend Jack Nicklaus to Hello Kitty, people (and characters) of all ages posted photos, shared how they celebrated their grandparents, and expressed love and gratitude across generations. And for a few hours, #GrandparentsDay even topped the trends list on Twitter! 

Here are just a few more ways Caring Across and our partners helped elevate the day:

  • In Texas, Caring Across partner Fe y Justicia visited a nursing home with cake and presents to spend the day with grandparents without families to visit them.
  • In Georgia, we joined the Atlanta Braves on the field for their Grandparents Day celebration, and the team featured Caring Across member Marlie Hill and her grandson on the big screen.
  • In Maine, State Speaker of the House Mark Eves wrote an op-ed highlighting the pro-caregiving policies he’s passed with the support of Caring Across partner Maine People’s Alliance.
  • Online, we worked with the grandson of Instagram sensation Grandma Betty to encourage his followers to post photos with the hashtag #GrandparentsDay, making it a top trend all day on the photo sharing platform. And here’s how Baddie Winkle ended up celebrating!

Making Grandparents Day a major cultural moment gives us a chance to reinforce values that are central to aging and caregiving with dignity, and gives us an opportunity to highlight how we as a country must care for those who have cared for us.

We can’t wait for next year!