By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — This Saturday, N.H. Grand Families will be holding a crafts festival at Runnings in Claremont to help raise funds and create awareness surrounding their organization that supports people raising children of relatives when the parents cannot do so.
The event is on Aug. 17 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and founder Tawna Fisher of Unity explained that the crafts festival is in its second year, and there are more than 40 vendors signed up. There will also be a petting zoo at the event for the first time, taking place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
N.H. Grand Families has a mission to support caregivers who raise the biological children of others. She said the organization is from all over the Granite State, and they provide anything from clothing to helping with utility bills and food assistance, and more. This is for caregivers over 40, and Fisher said it is often grandparents, grand-uncles and aunts, and other family members who are tasked with taking care of children of a loved one.
“I am actually raising my grandnephew, and that’s why I founded N.H. Grand Families,” Fisher said. “I believe our number is up to 27 families that we serve.”
According to the organization’s website, N.H. Grand Families Inc. was created when Fisher reached out to all the venues she could to help raise her grandnephew that she had been raising since birth. She often did not receive calls back from organizations and realized there were others in the state with the same problems. This is where Fisher decided to make the organization to help families with similar needs.
N.H. Grand Families became a nonprofit organization in September 2022 and are constantly looking for how to reach as many families as possible. This includes monthly ZOOM support groups and fundraisers like the one occurring on Saturday.
Last year there was a solid turnout, she said, and this year has even more vendors. Fisher said they want to bring in as many funds as possible, but the hope is to have about $2,000. Most of the funds gained are through vendor fees, but there will also be a raffle to bring in money, as well. The funds will be used for the general functions of the organization.
Fisher said the end of the summer is a time where families need to get their kids ready to get back to school, which can also lead to added costs.
“This helps especially right now,” Fisher said. “We have a lot of families who need help with back-to-school clothes and things like that. This is what we’re shooting to help the families with.
For more information log onto nhgrandfamilies.org.
