Title
Honoring the Life and Legacy of Doris "Jean" Hackney, "The Grandmother of North Philadelphia."
Body
WHEREAS, Doris "Jean" Gay Sanders Hackney was born in Philadelphia on Nov. 19, 1946, to Louvenia and Jasper Gay; and
WHEREAS, Her parents' loving union produced Jasper, Jr., Samuel, Shirley, Mildred, and Kelly who all preceded her in death, and Mary Brown; and
WHEREAS, Jean graduated from Simon Gratz High School and spent her career as a facilities worker at the School District of Philadelphia and the Internal Revenue Service; and
WHEREAS, Jean would first marry Raifford Sanders, producing her first son Christopher Lee Sanders, Sr., who was born on October 12, 1970 and passed away on February 21, 2020; and
WHEREAS, Jean later married Thomas "Tom" Douglas Hackney, Sr. on May 27, 1995, who loved and cared for her until his passing on October 13, 2017, after which Hackney continued to be the caregiver for his mother Alice until her death in 2020; and
WHEREAS, Upon retirement, Jean would become steadily engaged as a community leader, especially on the issue of kinship care of children by grandparents; and
WHEREAS, Jean served as the Vice President of Grands as Parents, Inc., a North Central Philadelphia-based community organization that offered free weekly food distributions and holiday food drives, holiday toy distributions, book bag and coat drives, art therapy to youth and caregiver participants, presentations and training on civic engagement, financial literacy classes, seminars on custody and grandparents rights, and more; and
WHEREAS, Jean led the organization for several decades after founder Ernestine McCall and dedicated volunteer Shirley Chaney ("Sister") passed away, and Eileen Brown stepped away from day-to-day management; and
WHEREAS, Through Grands as Parents Jean created dozens of programs to support those she cared most about like the Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Feed the Hungry Day of Service, Delta Sigma Theta Toy Library, and ann...
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