GRAND Magazine - May/June 2018 - 33

grand families
for the Kinship Program is to grow
more respect for the families that
are stepping up to raise grandchildren, and less judgment about their
parenting skills.
"I want to help the community to
realize, you probably know somebody that's raising a relative's child.
How are you helping them? Are you
offering support, are you offering to
take that child to the movie or park,
so that grandma and grandpa can go
out?" Even if it's just offering encouragement to a friend or neighbor,
there are many ways to support a
kinship caregiver.
If you know a kinship caregiver,
or are one, be sure to check out
one of Lynn's favorite programs, the
15th Annual Voices of Children
Contest: a positive outlet for children being raised by relatives to
Lynn and her husband Lars with most of their grandchildren, 13 of 15 total.
submit art or writing about their
Photo courtesy: Lynn Urvina
experience. Contestants and their
the support they need to take care of their kids.
families celebrate the winners every
"Support sometimes can be financial, but sometimes year at the governor's mansion.
it's emotional," Lynn acknowledges. Caregivers can find
To learn more about the kinship programs that Family
that kind of emotional support in FESS education and
Education & Support Services have available, head to
support groups, called Kinship Conversations, which
the website.
meet in Thurston, Mason and Lewis Counties.
Ten years ago, Lynn was an attendee of one of those
This article originally appeared on
kinship support groups. And it was through that conThurstonTalk.com. The author,
nection that she first heard about the open Kinship
Stephanie Hemness has been living
Navigator position and was soon hired.
in Seattle, Washington. She loves
Since then, Lynn has helped many local families, and
writing, traveling, and delicious vegan
food. She works in special education
she's even advocated to state and national legislators
for the public schools.
for programs that support kinship. Lynn's overall goal
33 GRAND

MAY JUNE 2018

A book you'll want
for your grandkids
Once upon a time, in a
neighborhood not so far
away there lived a dog
named Buddy. Buddy was
not just your average dog,
but one whose mysterious
appearance in the backyard of the Harrison family
may never be understood,
and whose original home
will never be known.
However, thanks to Buddy
and author, Dave Harrison, many children
will learn valuable lessons of geography, as
well as the goodness and kindness of people
of all nations and creeds around the world.
Grandparents, parents or teachers can use
this book to excite children's imaginations
while teaching them world geography.
"This book is awesome and the illustrations are
fantastic" - Joanna, Minneapolis, MN
"I think this book is great for children to learn
about the world." - Lilli, Houston, TX

Learn more

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0994809700/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0994809700&linkId=c0cf2342749a51234e00421ef2df453e https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003B6QYSW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grandmagazi0d-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B003B6QYSW&linkId=74a78ba0a510c9871c2e38f745d59213 http://www.theycallmebuddy.com/ http://www.familyess.org/15th-annual-voices-of-children-contest-2018/ http://www.familyess.org/15th-annual-voices-of-children-contest-2018/ http://www.familyess.org/program-list/kinship/ http://www.thurstontalk.com/2018/03/19/lynn-urvina-kinship-caregiver-program/ http://www.theycallmebuddy.com/

GRAND Magazine - May/June 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - May/June 2018