Grands Stepping Up is a non-profit corporation dedicated to assisting grandparents/kinship guardians who are raising their grandchildren, primarily due to many issues such as the opiate epidemic, incarceration, mental health issues, death or illness of the parents that cause the parents to have the inability to fitness in their traditional parental roles; to assist by the creation of many holistic programs (to include Denis’ Pantry & Free Store, as the only program that will also be offered to all community residents) that will support the new grand family financially, psychologically, legally and socially to support the success of the new family unit; to educate governing county agencies and entities , as well as primary care physicians, school districts, etc. regarding the complexity of the Grand/Kinship families’ needs.
We have a Legal Clinic for our grand/kin families. We have numerous lawyers ready to volunteer covering areas including custody, adoption, landlord/tenant, real estate, criminal, and others. Payment is discounted based on income.
A trauma-based family counseling program that assists in dealing with the plethora of mental health/behavioral issues of the grandchildren. e.g. Adjustment disorders, abandonment issues, depression and anxiety that may accompany the children as they adjust to a new family unit and continue living with one. We also offer physical/occupational services.
Our Year-Long Holidays Program Includes:
An organized volunteer program is set up to recruit, train and retain volunteers to assist in all of the programs. This volunteer program supports the specific ideas and needs of the professionals that wish to give back. If you are interested in volunteering with us please contact us at volunteer@grandssteppingupinfo.com
If you are interested in raising funds, collecting items for our pantry or want to sponsor an event contact us to learn how. There will be several fundraising events each year to support our specific programs. If you would like to join our fundraising team contact us today!
Serving ALL Delaware County residents.
DISCLAIMER: Becoming a pantry client DOES NOT entitle you to GSU services. You MUST be a registered grand/kinship family to partake in any programs/services not offered directly by Denis’ Pantry.
There is an emergency fund set up for any grandfamily in danger of losing electricity, heat, water, or in danger of eviction. This will be approved on a case-by-case basis. This fund will provide the grandparents/kinship guardians holistic support as they navigate through the system of Financial issues that accompany their journey as they accept the challenge of becoming parents again in their new role.
This fund was started to support the social desires of the grandchildren to participate in sports, dance, theatrics, gymnastics, etc. This fund was created and is marketed to enhance the social lives of the grandchildren and pay for fees and equipment for each particular experience. This program supports the grandparents to not have to encounter fees and the financial burden to them for their grandchildren to participate in local CYO activities/township yearly sport groups, school sports and activities and any other social engagement of interest.
A much-needed support group has been formed for all Grand/Kinship guardians. A safe space for our like-minded community. More information can be found at the link below. *More locations to be added
Please reach us at Hello@grandssteppingupinfo.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Simply put, the answer is no. If you are raising the child in your household full time and are the sole/main provider of the child you can qualify.
The only program this applies to is Denis’ Pantry. If you are a grand/kinship family you can live anywhere and qualify to be a GSU client.
The only program that income has any bearing is our Legal Clinic. We hope that this will be free to all GSU clients one day soon!
No. Not every program/activity/event will be a perfect fit for you and that's okay. Although you are welcome to take advantage of any/all programs available.
No. If you are not a registered Grands Stepping Up client the only program available to you is GSU's Denis’ Pantry and any programs/events it provides. GSU's Denis’ Pantry is the ONLY program that is offered to ALL Delaware County, Pa residents.
