GRG OF BREVARD Issue #142 #141

GRG of Brevard

March 2013

GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN OF BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA INC. ISSUE # 142

Wednesday, March 6th TARGET Training

GRG of Brevard Office, 123 Barton Blvd., Rockledge 10:00 am – noon

Tuesday, March 12th – Titusville Support Group Meeting

805 Century Medical Dr, Building B, Titusville. This group is partnered with Parrish Senior Solutions. 10:00 – 11:30 am

Wednesday, March 13th

TARGET Training

GRG of Brevard Office, 123 Barton Blvd., Rockledge 10:00 am – noon

Thursday, March 14th

– Club Esteem Support Group Meeting

Libscomb Street Community Center 10:00 – 11:30 am.

Tuesday, March 19th

– Central Brevard Support Group

GRG of Brevard Office, 123 Barton Blvd., Rockledge 09:30 – 11:00 am

Wednesday, March 20th TARGET Training – Final Session

GRG of Brevard Office, 123 Barton Blvd., Rockledge 10:00 am – noon

Thursday, March 28th

– Beach Side Support Group.

Memaw’s Restaurant, Indian Harbour Beach, 9:30 – 11:30 am (Breakfast is available at member's expense)

South Brevard Support Group Meeting

This support group will be starting back in April at the Memaw's on Babcock Street in Palm Bay.

Please contact the office 631-7776 if you are interested in attending an evening meeting at 6:00 PM at the above location.

Spring is in the Air!

WELCOME to the new edition of our newsletter!

I hope that you find it to be informative, educational and entertaining.

Mary Ann Sterling, Executive Director

GRG of BREVARD

Office: 321.631.7776 Cell: 321.848.8006

123 Barton Blvd. Rockledge FL 32955

www.grg-brevard.org

Page 1

March 2013 Meetings

GRG OF BREVARD SUBTITLE | Issue 142 2

E-NEWSLETTER Help us Go Green and be environmentally responsible.

The newsletter can be delivered to you each month via email. This new capability could enable GRG to save up to $4,000 each year in paper and printing costs. If you would like to receive your newsletter via Email, send your name, current mailing address and the email address where you would like to receive the newsletter to

grg.brevard@gmail.com

A NOTE Please let me take this opportunity to thank all of you for my wonderful Christmas Gift. Your kindness and generosity are greatly appreciated. I take my new pocket book with me everywhere, it is beautiful.

Thank you also for sending the thank you letters to the Elks and Kids Without Christmas organizations. Everyone told me the gifts were outstanding.

Mary Ann Sterling

JUST A REMINDER – We have moved our offices from the back of the building located at 123 Barton Blvd, Rockledge, FL to the center of the building. The entrance will now be the front door facing Barton Blvd.

Our TARGET Training has gotten off to a very good start. The first session conducted by Culmer and Davidson was very informative and many legal questions were answers.

The second session was conducted by Heather Howlett with the Protective Investigation Division of the Department of Children and Families. We posed many hard questions at Ms. Howlett and she stated that the Protective Investigation Division involvement ends 60 days after the case comes to them from the Hot Line.

The remaining sessions of TARGET cover ACCESS funding, Parenting classes for pre-teens and teens, coping with our situation, autism, ADHD, and the final session will cover agencies which we use often, Children’s Home Society, Devereux, Brevard Family Partnership, Early Learning Coalition, Brevard Cares and Medicaid.

Our last session of TARGET Training will be held on March 20. Please plan to attend and bring a covered dish as we will be having a get together after this final session.

VOLUNTEER

DON’T KNOW WHERE

TO GO?

CALL THE WARM-LINE!

321.631.7776

Right on TARGET

Get answers to questions on

custody, guardianship, adoption

issues, public benefits, legal

services, support with groups and

other community services. When

you call, be prepared to leave a

message and contact number.

Interested in volunteering with Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard? Contact Mary Ann Sterling at 321-631-7776 or email: grg.brevard@gmail.com We have expressed a need for volunteers and we have not received a very good response. We would appreciate if you have a few hours a month to please call. We would like to have assistance in getting our meeting information into the local publications, sending a welcome letter to all new members, computer input for funding request, answering the phone, cleaning our facility, and many more tasks. Please call 321-631-7776 or 321-848-8006 (cell) if you have some time to volunteer. Thank you.

SHINING STARS

If you have a great story or news about your grandchild please let us know; we would love to publish it in our newsletter.

Older children are welcome to submit stories, photos or poetry.

Please email grg.brevard@gmail.com

GRG OF BREVARD SUBTITLE | Issue 142 3

Adoption IRS Tax Credit The IRS allows up to $13,170 credit for each child. To apply for this credit, you will need to complete IRS Form 8839 and attach to your tax form 1040 or 1040NR.

You will also need to attach the following to Form 8839 to support your claim: (1) Adoption certificate (issued by court) (2) Attorney/court fees (This was all on the invoice from the lawyer). (3) Copy of birth certificate. The cost of the Birth Certificate is $20.00. To claim this $20.00 credit, attach a copy of the cashed check.

For more detailed information, go to www.irs.gov and find instructions for completing IRS Form 8839.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR GRANDCHILD’S BEHAVIOR

Univ. of Florida Extension Handbook for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren by Mike Ferrer and Angela Falcone

Parenting is a challenge the first time around. Becoming a parent the second time can be a greater challenge. This is especially true if your new role is a direct result of a crisis situation. Grandchildren who have lived in an unstable family need a lot of tender loving care.

They may experience feelings of anger, hurt, guilt and loss. The way you deal with their feelings and guide their behavior will be crucial to how well they adjust to their new lifestyle.

All children show inappropriate behavior at times. They lack adult experiences and by nature are curious and impulsive. Children can find many ways to misbehave. Some children throw temper tantrums, yell, and scream. Others may disobey rules or fight with siblings. During this time, your grandchildren are more likely to misbehave. It is important to identify the reasons for their misbehavior. Knowing why your grandchildren misbehave can make a difficult situation easier to handle. This can lead to a more meaningful and positive relationship.

If you would like a copy of this complete article please contact our office at 631-7776.

April is National

Child Abuse Prevention Month

During this month and throughout the year, GRG of Brevard is dedicated to supporting families and reducing the risk of child abuse and neglect.

By working together as a community, we all can play a part in promoting children's emotional well-being and strengthening families.

We would like to thank the following organizations for their contributions to GRG of Brevard!

And Special Thanks To: Memaw’s Restaurant & Club Esteem who provide meeting space for our monthly support meetings. Our community partners who work by side with us to create a better world for children and families.

Thanks too to our faithful volunteers and donors across the county.

DILIGENT SEARCH AND INQUIRY We will be conducting a class on how to conduct a Diligent Search and Inquiry. Some of us are counseling with Culmer and Davidson and this is a necessary tool if we do not know where the parents of our grandchildren are. This will save us money if we do it on our own.

Lillian Hobson has given us a wonderful guideline to conducting this search. If you are interested in attending please contact 321-631-7776. A date for this training will be scheduled in the near future.

GRG OF BREVARD SUBTITLE | Issue 142 4 #141

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

of Brevard County, FL, Inc.

123 Barton Blvd.

Rockledge, FL 32955

HELP THE GRANDPARENTS AND CHILDREN OF GRG OF BREVARD

BECOME A MEMBER AND/OR FRIEND Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard County FL, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

All gifts are deductible on corporate, foundation and individual tax returns to the extent provided by state and federal laws.

Members of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard County, FL, Inc.

receive our newsletter and invitations to events where they can meet others in

similar situations

Name

Date:

Address:

City/State:

Zip:

Phone:

Email:

[ ] Annual Membership $20 [ ] Annual Corporate Membership $500

I want to be a friend of the GRG of Brevard and enclose an additional donation of: [ ] $25 [ ] $50 [ ] $75 [ ] $100 Other: $

I am raising children who are not my own I am their:

[ ] Grandparent

[ ] Aunt / Uncle

[ ] Sister / Brother

[ ] Other (please specify)

[ ] I am not in this situation but I want to join GRG of Brevard because I am interested in what you do.

Please make your check payable to: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

of Brevard

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