OAK HILL, WV (WOAY) – The special role grandparents play is being honored through a National Grandparent’s Day celebration at The Hive in downtown Oak Hill.
West Virginia native Marian McQuade helped set this national holiday in motion.
“My grandmother Marian McQuade was the founder of Grandparent’s Day and I have taken over doing the events, so we have decided this year that we would do something locally,” says Mary Israel, the event organizer and head of National Grandparent’s Day Organization.
Hosted by the National Grandparent’s Day organization, the event shows support for grandparents and their families through their partnership with other organizations such as GrandFamilies, to provide resources helping out grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.
“We are supporting grandparents that are raising children, their grandchildren are now in the home as their own children, so we are giving some information out here today from New River Health, and supplying grandparents with resources so that they can better support their kids,” she says.
With live music provided by a band made up of all grandparents, door prizes donated by local businesses throughout the community, and activities for the whole family, it was a great way to celebrate and support those special people we call grandparents.
“We are just trying to get everything together so that we can have a fresh mission for the new generation and continue on my grandmother’s legacy of making sure that grandparents are a vital part of the community, not forgotten, and that we shower them with everything that they deserve,” adds Israel.
Grandparent’s Day officially became a national holiday in 1978, making West Virginia the first state to have a special day honoring grandparents.
To find out more about how this organization helps grandparents and their families in the community, you can visit National Grandparent’s Day on Facebook.
