OKLAHOMA CITY — Sunday is a day to honor the 6.1 million grandparents nationwide whose grandchildren live with them and the 2.5 million who are raising them.

Oklahoma has the sixth highest percentage — 56.9 percent — of grandparents responsible for grandchildren who live with them, Census data show.

Grandparents Day recognizes grandparents’ sacrifices, wisdom and the growing number who are parents again, planning for kindergarten, first dates and college funds.

The first official observance was Sept. 9, 1979. Observances have been every year since, on the Sunday following Labor Day.

To celebrate Grandparents Day, the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights has arranged for Oklahoma grandparents who are raising their grandchildren to be available for interviews. The nonprofit Oklahoma City-based group supports grandparents’ rights and advocates for policies that make it easier for them to step in to meet their grandchildren’s needs.

“These big-hearted individuals have already raised a family once, yet they willingly put aside their own lives to care for someone else’s child. The sacrifices they make are perhaps even more pronounced than when they were young parents,” Executive Director Jeff Raymond said. “We need to make things as easy on them as we can, because their number will continue to grow. They are unsung heroes.”

Facts
• 6.1 million: Number of grandparents whose grandchildren are younger than 18 and live with them.
• 2.5 million: Number of grandparents who act as caregivers to their grandchildren.
• 1.7 million: Number of grandparent-caregivers who are married.
• 1.4 million: Number of grandparents who are in the labor force and are responsible for most of their grandchildren’s basic needs.
• 918,000: Number of grandparents who cared for their grandchildren for at least the past five years.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

In Oklahoma
• 57,601: Number of children living in grandparent-headed households.
• 6.5 percent: Percentage of the state’s children who live in grandparent-headed households.

Source: AARP