Honoring grandfamilies in New Mexico
Nearly 8 million children reside in households headed by grandparents or other relatives.1 In New Mexico, this includes 40,000 children and 40% of children in foster care.2 Children in grandfamilies – defined as families in which grandparents, adult relatives, or close family friends are raising children with no parents in the home – experience challenges like education, housing, and other social needs that can impact their health.
To support grandparents and grandfamilies, UnitedHealthcare hosted events throughout Grandparents Appreciation Month in September. The events, which took place across the country, brought together families across generations to celebrate and honor grandparents. In addition to activities and engagement with community partners, the events also distributed food and educational materials.
Our team at UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of New Mexico was excited to welcome hundreds of grandparents and their families to an event in Albuquerque’s South Valley. This event brought in over 250 individuals and families from Albuquerque and the South Valley area. Community members of all ages came to celebrate and enjoy food vendors at no cost. The event also featured a cooking demonstration from Three Sisters Kitchen, an Albuquerque-based nonprofit community food space, which prepared biscochito pudding using a popular local holiday cookie.
Throughout the day we had numerous performances from Albuquerque's famous youth Baile Baile dancers and Aztec dancers. We had a performance from local favorite Mariachi Tenampa as well as music from the Mike Y Romero band, which performed songs in English and Spanish. Over twenty student volunteers from the National Honor Society at a local school made this event possible. Community partners and vendors joined the event to share important resources to support the health and well-being of grandparents and their families.
The event represented an important opportunity to honor seniors and the important role that they play in their families and in our extended community. To learn more about how UnitedHealthcare celebrates and supports grandparents and their families, visit www.celebrategrandparents.com.
