Grandparents United is gearing up to host its inaugural Grandparents Christmas celebration, on Dec. 19 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The purpose of the party is to acknowledge and appreciate grandparents’ contributions to the care of their grandchildren.

According to its website, Grandparents United provides “support and opportunity for grandparents to share their experiences and the many difficulties they face or have faced with [establishing] guardianship” of their grandchildren.

Support includes founder Toney Ryder working with different donors to get food to deliver to grandparents in need, helping grandparents navigate issues with the Department of Children and Families and donating to three local churches each Sunday. The vision of the organization is “to help others by reducing stress and showing all Grandparents with battles that they are not alone. As resources are received, Grandparents United aims to provide information and support to the Grandparents in need” throughout the community.

Ryder created the organization in 2018 based on her “personal experience in raising her grandchildren and keeping them out of the Department of Children and Families custody — which included job loss, financial burden, invasion of privacy and more.”

“I came to find out a lot of grandparents are releasing their guardianship, because they didn’t want to battle the issue with DCF. So, I chose to start [an]...organization to help grandparents, because a lot of our grandparents, when we get these grandchildren, they’re on disability, retired [and have] fixed incomes,” she said.

“When they take guardianship of these children, they don’t have the financial stability to take care of them. So, with that being said, I found a way [to] help them with their resources, help them to [get] their knowledge, so we don’t have to turn our [grand]children [away or] give them away to the system.”

Grandparents Christmas is held in Florian Hall at 55 Hallet St. in Dorchester. There will be food, gifts, fun and laughter. Ryder shared more about the purpose of the celebration.

“[This] is our very first Grandparents Christmas, and I want grandparents to be acknowledged and appreciated for the work they do for their grandchildren. This program, to my knowledge, [has] never been held before — giving back to grandparents. I just want them to truly feel appreciated for the work … that they do to hold on to our grandchildren,” she said.

The celebration will include food from major restaurants, gifts donated by Toys for Tots for infants to teenagers as well as raffles to support future Grandparents United work.

Ryder also talked about why it is important to have events like this, to celebrate grandparents in the community.

“We have to find a way to bring Big Mama back, bring our family [back] … and just be together.”

ON THE WEB

For tickets visit eventbrite.com/e/grandparents-christmas-tickets-1941210154829?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Learn more about the organization at grandparentsunited.co