Georgia State University Awarded Grants for Project Healthy Grandparents

ATLANTA - Georgia State University has received generous grants from the Molly Blank Fund of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and from the Fraser-Parker Foundation in support of Project Healthy Grandparents, a research-based community program that improves the health and well-being of grandparents raising their grandchildren by providing in-home nursing and social work services.

These two foundations partner with GSU to support grandparent-headed households in Atlanta. An interdisciplinary team of social workers and nurses provides free services and support groups to grandparents and the grandchildren they are raising.

"We appreciate the generous support of the Fraser-Parker Foundation and the Molly Blank Fund and value the crucial role these grants will play in the growth of the project's scope and impact," said Patricia Lawrence, director of Project Healthy Grandparents and a research assistant professor in the School of Public Health. "Project Healthy Grandparents improves outcomes for thousands of grandparents and grandchildren across metro Atlanta, and the grants will work at the intersection of health, aging and child welfare to empower families." Lawrence stated that grandparents' psychological distress is significantly higher in recent years, underscoring the need for donor support more than ever.

Project Healthy Grandparents was founded in 1995 by Dr. Susan J. Kelley and has served nearly 3,900 grandparents and grandchildren in Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties. Based in the GSU School of Public Health's Mark Chaffin Centers for Healthy Development, it annually supports families through more than 500 registered nurse visits, 370 case management sessions and more than 540 referrals for critical needs, legal counsel and childcare.

The Molly Blank Fund was established after Mrs. Blank's 2015 death at age 99 to continue the pursuits of causes and organizations in which she believed. Her values can be summed up in a statement she often made: "Everything we strive to do in life is a gift. It's our responsibility to share it, to give back to the world." Learn more at blankfoundation.org/area-of-giving/.

Established in 1987, the Fraser-Parker Foundation is a private family foundation that advances the arts, education and community well-being through long-term relationships with its grantee partners.

Learn more and give to Project Healthy Grandparents here.