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ph: (09)480-6530
9:00am - 3:00pm
fax: (09)480-6572
email: office@grg.org.nz
Trust Head Office:
PO Box 34-892
Birkenhead,
Auckland
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren ™ Charitable Trust 2005
| SUBJECT: National Office. NZ. Report January 2005 We hope you are well rested after the holidays and all had a happy, safe time. Or are you like me waiting for the grandchildren/whanau children to return to school and then our holiday begins, (well sort of). The Trust office phones were somewhat quieter these Christmas and New Year holidays, so hopefully things were quiet out there for you all. We look forward to 2005 and hopefully some big changes will happen for you all and indeed the GRG Trust. The next Kiri Te Kanawa? Our 10 year old grand-daughter, for the past 4 years, has excelled in Irish dancing winning 7 medals and various certificates. Elizabeth was heard singing at church and the grandparents were approached by an ex Sister Leo pupil who asked if they could train her. Recently Elizabeth was singing at a competition and won the event. Well done Elizabeth, we hope your career soars as high as it can go. We give thanks: To Helmine Verhoeven who still remembers us even though now residing in France. The Trust gratefully received a $500 cheque to help us continue on. Any donations to the Trust are tax deductible as we are a registered charity. The ‘other’ side to being, a Grandmother and a Grandmother raising Grandchildren. My son and his wife have just delivered our 7th grandchild. Yes we do have joy in our hearts. But raising 2 difficult grand-girls and having 5 other grandchildren with another due next month adds extra strain for grandparents. We are a close family and they want grandparents to have time with their children as well. Babysitting, taking young ones whilst delivery of a new one happens adds to the burden. Having a separated daughter with a 2 1/2 year old Hemophiliac child does not help either. At times I feel exhausted; I need 3 more of me. But in saying this, I was taking my daughters 2 ½ year old son shopping with me and out of the blue he said, “I love grandparents”. Well, if that does not melt your heart nothing will. This is what gives one the strength to push further on, but in saying this it could have been so different. A different slant on the world of Grandparents raising Grandchildren. AND We must also take into consideration the Grandparents who are raising their Grandchildren and also caring for elderly parents either in their home or in their own home and indeed rest homes. This also has its hardships. These grandparents really are the meat in the proverbial sandwich. And there are those grandparents who raise the grandchildren who also look after the mentally disturbed father or mother of the children. It is not straightforward, is it folks? Sobering thoughts! Our Grandparents raising Grandchildren Handbook: The translation into Te Reo has now been completed; we will be shortly sending this off to the printer for publishing. We sincerely thank Bob Newson for his translation. We will be seeking funding for Tongan and Samoan translations this coming year. Clothing Allowances if your Whanau/ Grandchildren are under CYF care Children in Care Policy – Clothing: This clothing policy for children and young people in the care or custody of the Chief Executive comes into effect on the 1st October 2004. It replaces the clothing policy dated 1st July 2001 in the Care and Protection/Youth Justice Handbook. Policy The clothing policy of Child Youth and Family is that the Department will meet the reasonable clothing needs of children and young persons in the care or custody of the Chief Executive. These needs are met in different ways according to where the child or young person is placed and the length of time they have spent in care. For a child or young person placed with a caregiver: An emergency payment if the child or young person comes into care with insufficient clothing for the first few days. An initial assessment of the child or young person’s clothing needs, and initial payment according to the set rules. Mandatory quarterly payments to caregivers commencing after the child or young person has been in the care or custody of the Chief Executive for three months. Provision for additional clothing payments if the quarterly allowance or initial clothing payment is insufficient to meet the child or young persons reasonable clothing needs. A Residence payment provision for children and young people placed in a Residence. Reasonable needs payment provisions to meet other situations where the Chief Executive has responsibility. Unmet clothing needs for a child or young person placed with the parent, guardian, or caregiver usually having care must be discussed and negotiated with the usual caregiver, family. Quarterly Clothing Allowance: Once the child or young person placed in the community has been in the care or custody of the Chief Executive for three months, they will then receive the quarterly clothing allowance in line with the next financial period, and for each subsequent quarter that they remain in the care or custody of the Chief Executive. This applies to all those children and young people placed with Child, Youth and Family caregivers as well as those placed with services providers’ caregivers. The quarterly clothing allowance is paid in advance in January, April, July and October, and the rates are adjusted on 1st April each year in line with the December Consumer Price Index (CPI). The quarterly clothing allowance covers the following: § a reasonable quantity and range of appropriate clothing § a travel bag and § Replacement of school uniform items. When a child or young person is in the care or custody of a Child and Family Support Service, Iwi Social Service or Cultural Social Service (sections 362 and 363), the Directors of those services have the ability to establish their own clothing policies and practices, so long as such policies and practices meet the reasonable clothing needs of the child or young person. Nappies: As they are a disposable item, nappies are not considered to be clothing and are not covered by the clothing policy. Unless agreed otherwise with the Child, Youth and Family Caregiver, the SDU is to pay for nappies (either cloth or disposable as preferred by the caregiver) on a reasonable needs basis, over and above other care and clothing payments. For service providers payment for nappies will be according to Appendix A of the Shared Care Service Agreement, which provides for Child, Youth and Family to pay for an initial pack of disposable nappies only. Rights and Responsibilities: A child or young person in the care of custody of the Chief Executive – Children and young people have the right to have their reasonable clothing needs met, and to be consulted to the extent their age allows in the purchase of their clothing, with increasing involvement as they get older in planning and prioritizing their clothing needs. Caregivers – both Child Youth and family and Service Providers have the right to receive the clothing payments to which they are entitled, unless they have signed a form insisting on a reduced or nil payment. Caregivers are to be encouraged to accept their full clothing entitlement and not be deterred from doing so. Caregivers also have the right: § To have the clothing policy explained to them during the initial assessment of the child or young person’s clothing needs. Child, Youth and Family caregivers will also be able to access summary of this policy through the Caregivers’ Handbook. § Not to have to account for every dollar of the quarterly clothing allowance § Not to be expected to meet the clothing needs of a child or young person from their own resources. § Not to be asked, if the placement breaks down or is terminated, to refund any money they have spent on the child or young persons clothing. Caregivers are responsible for § Using the quarterly clothing allowance to ensure that the child or young person has their reasonable clothing needs met. § Providing Child, Youth and Family with receipts for any clothing they purchase as part of an emergency, additional, Residence or reasonable needs payment. School Uniforms: Child, Youth and Family makes an additional payment for school uniforms when a child or young person who is in the care or custody of the Chief Executive placed with a caregiver starts a school and requires a uniform, or changes uniform within a school. In these circumstances which apply whether the child or young person is placed with a Child, Youth or Family caregiver or a service provider caregiver, payment should be over and above the quarterly clothing allowance. Replacement of uniform items is expected to come from the quarterly clothing allowance, where this is being paid, or otherwise as an additional payment. Personal Kits: On placement, consideration should also be given to the provision of a personal kit for the child or young person. 4th Annual Child Law Conference– 10 & 11 March 2005
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VENUE |
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Sheraton Hotel |
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Auckland |
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DATE |
10 & 11 March 2005 |
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TIME |
9.00am – 5.00pm |
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CONTACT |
Phone 0800 800 986 • Fax 09 486 1421 |
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FEE |
Day One or Day Two $695 + GST = $781.88 Documentation available at: |
Both Days $995 + GST =$1119.38 *Please note that conference fee includes documentation |
Additional information is available from Customer Service on 09 486 9572, or send your request via email to: seminars@lexisnexis.co.nz. Our GRG research will be released at this conference, a first in this type of research for New Zealand. One of our own Trustee’s (Jill Worrell) of GRG is speaking at this conference. Her speech is titled “But Grandma you might Die”. Jill Worrell undertook this research along with Kate Woodd, a Trustee and our legal advisor.
Health Issues for Grandparents raising Grandchildren: USA
FRIDAY, Nov. 26 (HealthDayNews) -- Grandmothers responsible for caring for or raising grandchildren suffer more stress and depression than grandmothers without those responsibilities, according to an ongoing study at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
The four year-study of 450 Ohio grandmothers, which began in 2001 and will conclude in 2005, is designed to examine the effect of care giving on their health.
"These are older women who may have health needs of their own. So caring for a grandchild who may have health problems, developmental challenges or an increased need for care creates additional stress for these grandparents," study leader Carol Musil, an associate professor of nursing, said in a prepared statement.
She noted that the age of the grandchildren can be a factor. Younger children are more physically demanding, but grandparents often have to expend more psychological and emotional energy on older children.
Still, there are ways to reduce this stress. Previous research found that caregiver grandmothers had better health if they took a pro-active, planned approach to taking care of their grandchildren, rather than ignoring problems, or reacting to them as they occur.
Many caregiver grandmothers say the challenges are offset by the rewards for their family.
"The grandmothers told us that no matter how tired, how stressed or how challenged they were with the care of their grandchildren, they would do anything possible to provide the best outcomes for these children," Musil said.
More information
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission offers advice for caregiver grandparents.
How to Deal with Sibling Rivalry
There are many new issues facing parents today. Sibling rivalry
is not one of them. It is as old as Cain and Abel.
Sibling rivalry is universal, but more importantly sibling rivalry
is normal. More than that current research shows that sibling rivalry
is a sign of a healthy family. One of the signs of a dysfunctional
home or a home where there is a lot of stress is that there is no
sibling rivalry. In these homes the children tend to cling together
for security. So if sibling rivalry is universal and it is found
in normal homes, it must serve a purpose.
The Benefits of Sibling Rivalry
One of the main benefits that sibling rivalry teaches children
is conflict resolution. Life is full of conflict. As adults we have
developed skills to resolve these conflicts in an effective and
civil manner. How did we develop these skills? We learned this by
pounding our little brother. We learned this by fighting with our
big sister.
You can learn certain skills by arguing with your parents, but it
is not the same. Through your parents you learn how to deal with
authority. But siblings are peers. Learning how to relate to them
properly prepares us to relate to our friends and our spouses. You
can only learn conflict resolution when there is conflict. Sibling
rivalry provides a safe and supervised haven for children to learn
how to resolve their disagreements with others.
The second important lesson that we learn through sibling rivalry
is that the world is not fair. This is a very important and bitter
lesson to learn. There is always some who will do better than you.
There is always someone who is richer, who is smarter, who has better
behaved children, who has a happier marriage. Life is full of inequities.
We may not like it but most of us have come to terms with these
inequities. Where did we learn to accept that everything is not
always distributed evenly? We learned it from our siblings.
How to Manage Sibling Rivalry
Now that we have a framework for what children accomplish through sibling rivalry, we can understand better how we as parents can use our children’s relationships with each other to help them grow into healthy normal adults.
How to Oversee the Conflict Resolution
Since the purpose of sibling rivalry is to learn how to resolve conflicts with others, you should as much as possible let your children work out disputes themselves. You should direct them when necessary, but the idea is to give them as little direction as possible.
§ What You Should DoCreate a situation where the motivation is to resolve their differences. There are times they can’t work it out- so you coach them give them ideas how to compromise but the best thing is to have them resolve it themselves. For example, say they are fighting over a toy. One child says he had it first. The other says he didn’t get to play with it at all yesterday and now it’s his turn. Who is right? That is impossible to say. So what could you do? Tell them you don’t know who is right about the toy, but if they are fighting about it they are both wrong. Then take it away from them and tell them that when they work out a way of sharing it they can have it back. You will be surprised how fast most children will be able to work out something.
§ What You Not Should Do
Do not try to figure out who started it. In most cases you will never resolve this. More than that, any attempt to figure out who is the aggressor almost always makes things worse. Usually both children are at fault. Fighting with someone else is wrong. Once there is a fight they are automatically both wrong. What caused the fight becomes secondary.
§ What to watch out for
Your job as a parent is not to solve your children’s problems, but to teach them how to solve them themselves. They must learn to make compromises. As much as possible they should be the ones who work out the compromise. However, there are some things you should watch for to be sure they are doing a good job.
§ Make sure compromise is reasonable
You don’t want to let one child bully the other into submission. You have to make sure there is no coercion.
§ Be on Alert for the Child Who is too Good
Some children avoid conflict by nature. They would rather give in and be the good one than get what they were originally after. If one of your children is like this you have to be on guard. Constantly giving in is not acceptable. It is not good for the child who gives in because it trains him to be a target to be easily exploited. It is not good for the other child because it teaches him to take advantage of the good nature of others. You must make sure that each child gets something out of the compromise.
Special Situations
An impulsive child
Some children have specific problems, like being impulsive or inflexible. This may require you to intervene more often. Still whenever possible it is better to let the children resolve their conflicts themselves. In most cases, when you make your children responsible for solving their own problems, they will be very quick to work out a solution.
Teenagers
The
teen years are a special topic by itself and clearly not enough
has been written on it. However, I am going to address only a few
points here.
When Your Teen Fights with Your Seven Year Old
There are two very common reasons an older child will fight with
a much younger child. The first is he feels the younger child is
an imposition. We as parents use our older children to help us with
the younger ones. This is good for both children. Yet at times the
older child can feel that he is being forced into a parental role
that he is not quite ready to fill. When this happens the child
will begin to resent the burden of the younger sibling and this
will result in fighting.
A second common cause is that teens are very possessive of what
is theirs. Your average six-year-old may not understand this. He
might be used to playing with his nine year old brothers things,
but when he takes the same liberties with what he finds on his teenage
sister’s shelf he will get quite a different response. Teens have
a need for privacy and boundaries around what is their own. This
need is normal and is part of the developmental stage that they
are in. When a younger child transgresses those boundaries fights
will ensue.
Treating Your Children Equitably
As I mentioned earlier, one of the things that sibling rivalry teaches is that things in life are not always fair. We have to keep this in mind when relating to our children.
Do Not Get Hung Up on Making Things Fair
Life is not fair. You probably know this by now. Your children need to learn this, too. This does not mean you want to intentionally discriminate between your children. However, you should not knock yourself out trying to treat each child equally, for two reasons:
§ Your children will not learn the important lesson that life is not always fair.
§ You are doomed to fail. All you will accomplish is to frustrate yourself.
You can’t make things fair. Nor can you give to each child equally. Your relationship with each child is unique. This does not mean that you don’t love your children, but each one has a special type of relationship with you that is uniquely his. You should make an effort to be sure that the discrepancies are not extreme. You should be sure to give to each child what he or she needs. However, you are not being a bad parent by not treating to each of your children equally. That is life.
When You Can’t Minimize the Differences
Not all children are equally easy to raise. Some children need
a disproportionate amount of your time and attention and resources.
This is a reality. You will not be able to spread yourself out evenly.
There is nothing you can do about this.
If you have a child that needs an exorbitant amount of attention,
for example if the child is chronically ill, then you should discuss
this with the other children. Explain to them that their brother
or sister is ill and needs a lot of attention right now. You might
even try to get them involved in helping the sick child.
Conclusion
Sibling rivalry is one of the least discussed topics in child raising.
Yet sibling rivalry is part of every family when there is more than
one child. Not only that, but also sibling rivalry plays an important
part in molding each child. How a person acts as an adult is in
a large part a result of his relationships with his siblings.
Your job as a parent is to educate your child to be able to function
as an adult. You should use how your children relate to each other
as a tool so that they can learn to relate to others in the future.
Anthony Kane, MD
ADD
ADHD
Advances
Zippy's Friends - Coping Skills for Young Children
Chris Bale, Director, Partnership for Children, UK
Zippy's Friends is a pioneering mental health promotion programme for young children. It is already running in kindergartens and schools in six countries and there are hopes that it will soon be launched in New Zealand, following a presentation to the Third World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioural Disorders, held in Auckland in September.
Introduction
All parents want their children to do well at school. To most, that means getting good marks and passing exams. But research has shown that academic intelligence has little effect on a child's ability to cope positively with frustrations and challenges, make strong and lasting relationships, live a happy and fulfilled life, and avoid serious emotional difficulties in adolescence and adulthood. So, good marks are not enough.
However, successful coping skills reduce the likelihood of a person experiencing serious emotional difficulties, including suicidal behaviour, and research shows that even young children can learn those skills by taking part in effective programmes.
Zippy's Friends
Zippy's Friends is a school-based mental health promotion programme that promotes the coping skills of six and seven year old children. It teaches them how to cope with everyday difficulties, to identify and talk about their feelings and to explore ways of dealing with them. It also encourages children to help other people with their problems. Importantly, while most programmes for young children are aimed at preventing specific problem behaviours or helping specific high risk groups of children who already have problems, Zippy's Friends is a whole-class resource that promotes the mental health of all.
The programme runs for 24 weeks, with one 45-minute session each week, and teachers are given two days of intensive training before classes start. Zippy is a cartoon stick insect and his friends are a group of young children. The programme's stories show the group confronting issues that are familiar to young children - friendship, communication, feeling lonely, bullying, dealing with change and loss, and making a new start. Children take part in activities that help them to explore and understand their feelings and behaviour.
Zippy's Friends does not tell children what to do. It does not tell them that 'this solution is good and that solution is bad'. Instead, it encourages children to explore and think for themselves.
Evaluation
Zippy's Friends is managed by a small UK-based non-profit agency called Partnership for Children, and funding from GlaxoSmithKline has enabled the agency to have Zippy's Friends professionally evaluated. These studies have shown that the programme produces clear improvements in children's coping and social skills, and is equally effective with boys and girls. The evaluators concluded their last major report by saying:
'The results provide impressive evidence that this programme is successful in achieving its immediate goals.'
Further studies in Lithuania found that children retained their skills one year later and that children who participated in Zippy's Friends in the final year of kindergarten coped more easily and successfully with the transition to primary school. Many teachers have said that, in addition to helping children, the programme has also helped them. It has taught them new ways of working and has even been of value in their personal lives.
Feedback
'Seventy-two percent of parents noticed changes in their children's behaviour that they linked with participation in the programme. Children communicated more freely, valued friends, appeared to be more thoughtful, attentive, friendly and sincere, and started understanding others.' - Survey of Lithuanian parents
'I have now realised that young children have just the same need to talk about their feelings and problems as grown up people.' – Teacher
‘The programme has transformed our family life. All my children now listen properly to each other. I couldn't believe it when I found out Zippy was just a stick insect!' – Mother
'The findings of this evaluation are overwhelmingly positive, in terms of both the implementation of the programme and its effects.' - Evaluators Prof Brian Mishara (University of Quebec at Montreal) and Assoc Prof Mette Ystgaard (University of Oslo)
'Zippy's Friends is easy, simple, comprehensive and magically profound.' - Tania Paris, Programme Co-ordinator, Brazil
International Expansion
Zippy's Friends is unusual in that it was designed from the outset to be a global programme. It was piloted in Denmark and Lithuania and is now also running in Brazil, England, India and Norway. Classes are about to start in Canada, Hong Kong and Poland, and discussions are continuing with a number of other countries. More than 20,000 children have completed the programme worldwide and the numbers are increasing all the time.
Partnership for Children's Director, Chris Bale, was in Auckland recently for the International Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioural Disorders.
Chris said the conference gave them a platform to introduce Zippy's Friends to a truly international audience, ranging from an Australian teacher to a psychiatrist from Serbia. He said they want the programme to benefit as many children as possible, and they have been really encouraged by the level of interest at the conference. Of particular note was contact with a psychiatrist from the US Military, who is working with children whose fathers and mothers are away serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. He felt that Zippy's Friends might be particularly valuable for children who are under so much stress.
Zippy and New Zealand
There have been a number of enquiries from New Zealand and Chris says they would love to see Zippy's Friends launched here. Partnership for Children provide: the teaching materials and run an initial teacher training course, but in every country they try to hand over to a local partner agency as soon as possible, to root Zippy's Friends in that country's culture.
More Information www.mindnet.org.nz
If you can pick up from Trust office:
We have for a ‘loan basis’ 2 highchairs, bassinet (no mattress) and a pram-come-pushchair with rain cover. We still have 5 computer monitors (14 inch) available for give away.
Waddle with Monty at Western Springs!
ONE SMALL STEP WITH MONTY – ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MENINGITIS
After much anticipation Toddle Waddle is back! Join Monty the duck and his mates from the Meningitis Trust to toddle waddle, it’s the waddletastic way to beat meningitis.
Last year over 20,000 children from all corners of New Zealand, joined Monty and his mates in the Meningitis Trust’s second Toddle Waddle raising a stupendous $47,000! We don’t want anyone to miss out on all the excitement so we are inviting you to create your Monty hat, grab your Monty balloon and come waddle with us!
For those of you venturing into new territory Toddle Waddle is a fun sponsored walk for young children – although adults can join in the fun as well! Its aim is to promote awareness of the signs and symptoms of meningitis, whilst having fun and raising vital funds to support the work of the Meningitis Trust across New Zealand.
Monty and his mates will be waddling all over the country from the 14th – 20th March 2005 and want you to join them. If you are part of a kindy, an early learning centre or even a group of friends you can hold your own Toddle Waddle. We’ll help by sending you a pack full of entertaining ideas, balloons, Monty the duck stickers, sponsor forms and meningitis symptom cards.
To register an event or for further info contact Monty’s mate Nicola Garland on 09 428 2056, email events@meningitis-trust.org.nz or visit our website www.toddlewaddle.org
Go quackers, toddle waddle and have some fun!
Do you live in the Auckland area?? For the first time ever you can join Monty and loads of his mates as we all toddle together at Western Springs. With kind support from Auckland Zoo and MOTAT we plan to hold a Toddle Waddle not to be missed!! On Sunday 20th March at 11am, Monty will round up his mates and waddle their way through Western Springs from Auckland Zoo to MOTAT. We want you to join us….the more of us there are the more fun we will have. We will send you all the goodies you could need, balloon, stickers, Monty the Duck hats, sponsor forms and meningitis symptom cards. Not only will you have heaps of fun waddling but if you bring your sponsor form on the day and have raised more than $15 you will get free entry into both the Zoo and MOTAT.
To be part of the action and to help support the work of the Meningitis Trust contact Monty’s mate Nicola Garland on 09 428 2056 or email events@meningitis- and she will send you out everything you need.
NZ FCF/CYF Caregiver Courses for Feb/March 05: FREE
| 14 & 15 |
February |
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Taupo |
CI |
Caregiver Induction |
| 19 & 20 |
February |
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Whakatane |
CI |
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| 17 & 18 |
February |
9.00 am - 4.00 pm |
Mast/Dann |
CI |
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| 19 & 20 |
February |
9.00 am - 4.00 pm |
Palmerston North |
LI |
Legal Issues |
| 21/24/28 |
February |
6-9.30 pm each night |
Nap/Hast/CHB |
CI |
|
| 10 & 11 |
February |
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Porirua |
FD |
Family Dynamics |
| 17 & 18 |
February |
|
Lower Hutt |
FD |
|
| 26 & 27 |
February |
|
Lower Hutt |
CI |
|
| 26 Feb & 5 March |
Feb & March |
|
Hamilton |
CI |
|
| 28 Feb & 1 Mar |
Feb & March |
|
Tauranga |
CI |
|
| 28 Feb & 1 Mar |
Feb/Mar |
|
Ash/Timaru |
UM |
Understanding |
| 3 & 10 & 17 |
March |
Evening & Day |
Nelson |
UM |
Maltreatment |
| 4 & 5 |
March |
|
Christchurch |
CI |
|
| 10 & 11 |
March |
|
Alexandra |
MB |
Managing Behaviour |
| 19 & 20 |
March |
|
Dunedin |
CI |
|
| 21 & 22 |
March |
|
Dunedin |
NV |
Non Violent Crisis Intervention |
| 12 & 13 |
March |
|
Whangarei |
CI |
|
| 14 & 15 |
March |
|
Palmerston North |
CI |
|
| 18 & 19 |
March |
|
Waitakere |
UM |
|
| 19 & 20 |
March |
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Auckland South |
CI |
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| 3 & 4 |
March |
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Thames |
CI |
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| 9 & 10 |
March |
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New Plymouth |
NV |
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| 23 & 24 |
March |
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Hamilton |
SC |
Safe Caring |
| 5 & 6 |
March |
9.00 am - 4.00 pm |
Wanganui |
SC |
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| 7 & 8 |
March |
9.00 am - 4.00 pm |
Taumarunui |
UM |
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| 19 & 20 |
March |
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Gis/Wairoa |
CI |
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| 18 & 19 |
March |
9.00 am - 4.00 pm |
Nap/Hast/CHB |
NV |
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| 17 & 18 |
March |
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Wellington |
CH |
Child Health |
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To register; please contact Maxine Carroll on 0800 227 305 or fax
04 9132168.
CYF will reimburse petrol money and child care costs.
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD
1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're
down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking
chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) Its frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers
to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
I feel this quote below perfectly
describes my thoughts on the GRG Trust.
A friend is someone who dances with you in the sunlight, and walks beside you in the shadows. For a thousand tomorrows I vow to dance in the sunlight and walk in the shadows with any who are brave enough, and those not so brave, to walk and dance with me. For we collectively can and will make a difference in some children’s lives. So hold their hands and the hands of others, come dance in the sunlight for a brighter tomorrow.
Di
Convenor and the team. return to top