Rochester Rotary steps up with $3G contribution to nonprofit Step Up Parents

From left, Ginger Gagne, treasurer of Rochester Rotary Charities; Denyse Richter, executive director of Step Up Parents and Jennifer DuChene), Board president, Step Up Parents (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - The Rochester Rotary Club recently donated $3,000 to support Step Up Parents, a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to kinship caregivers in New Hampshire.

The funds will be used to support the organization's mission of helping grandparents and other relatives who have stepped up to raise the children of parents struggling with substance misuse.

"The decision to provide financial assistance to Step Up Parents is rooted in our desire to help the like-minded caregivers the program supports," said Josh Dame, president-elect of The Rotary Club of Rochester. "Protecting and raising children while living through the emotional rollercoaster of having a loved one in crisis is the epitome of service above self."

Since its founding in 2019, Step Up Parents has helped more than 400 kinship families, impacted more than 700 children, and given over $200,000 in assistance with the help of generous donations. The need for kinship family support in New Hampshire is great, with parental substance misuse being the number one contributing factor.

"We are so honored and grateful to have the support of the Rotary Club of Rochester again this year," said Denyse Richter, executive director and founder of Step Up Parents. "With so many kinship families in the Rochester area, it is important to have local community partners like the Rochester Rotary whose support makes our work possible."

If you or someone you know is a relative caregiver raising children of a loved one struggling with substance misuse, visit www.stepupparents.org, call (603) 319-4739, or email info@stepupparents.org. Step Up Parents relies solely on donations. To donate, visit www.stepupparents.org/donate or send a contribution to P.O. Box 1603, Portsmouth, NH, 03801.