2023 Honors and Recognition

Each Spring, The Commission on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren is proud to award several community partners and leaders with special recognition for their leadership, support, and advocacy for grandparents raising grandchildren. The Commission is excited to announce the 2023 Award Recipients:

Congratulations to the Award Recipients

The John Lepper Advocacy Award

The John Lepper Advocacy Award is named after the founder, leader, and the heart and soul of the Commission on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: It was years of John’s hard work, advocacy, dedication and passion for helping other grandparents and relative caregivers that lead to the creation of the Commission by the Legislature in 2008. The Commission has thrived and expanded it’s mission under John’s leadership ever since. John’s advocacy and persistence are inspiring and it’s for these reasons and more that the Commission created the John Lepper Advocacy Award in his honor in 2016.

The 2023 John Lepper Advocacy Award recipient is

Joanne Peterson

Learn to Cope

Read About Joanne Peterson Here

The Harriet Jackson-Lyons Award:

The Harriet Jackson-Lyons Award is the very first award given at the “Annual Conference for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren” starting in 2012 at first conference in Worcester. It was initially called the “Grandparent Leadership Award” and was awarded to Harriet Jackson-Lyons. The Commission then re-named the award in Harriet’s honor naming it the “Harriet Jackson-Lyons Award.” Ms. Jackson-Lyons was a pioneer voice for grandparents raising grandchildren in her community and continued to support and encourage relative caregivers up until she passed away in 2019. Her advocacy and support of her fellow grandparents raising grandchildren is a shining example of community activism at it’s core. She was a mentor to many, including past recipients of the award given in her name.

The 2023 Harriet Jackson-Lyons award recipient:

Carmen Robles

Grandmother

Learn About Carmen Robles Here

The Friends of the Commission Award

The Commission on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren is very grateful for all of the community partners and service providers that are dedicated to working with and supporting the thousands of grandparents raising grandchildren and relative caregivers throughout Massachusetts. Having outstanding community partners and collaborators helps all of us move the mission forward to improve access to supports, information, and resources for these amazing caregivers who are raising some of the most vulnerable children in our Commonwealth. None of us could do this work alone, so to all of the “Friends of the Commission” we thank you.

The 2023 Friends of the Commission award recipient:

Lasagna Love

Read About Lasagna Love Here