A large group of Grannies brought their cars down for the sale, laden with useful and decorative articles. Coffee, snacks and crafts were also available. Many customers braved the rain, which increased as the morning progressed, to pick up bargains, and a total of $1648 was raised. Once again, many thanks to Lorraine W.who organized the event, all the Grannies and their partners who helped with set-up and take-down, and everyone who sold goods. No one minded getting wet in a good cause!

Thank you to Mudsharks for their donation of coffee.

Event photographs: (Click on each image to view an enlargement. Click on the "X" - top right corner to close..)

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With cheers and clapping,the Glacier Grannies and their guests welcomed 23 cyclists and their support team to Bette A.'s lovely home and garden. The riders, from all over the Island, were on a fund-raising 275 kilometer ride from Campbell River to Victoria. It was an international gathering, with two riders joining the group from Los Angeles, and two guests from England.

Everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by Donna G. and her team. The cyclists left, to more encouraging cheers, with goodie bags prepared by Grannies Linking Africa and Denman, and packed in attractive bike-themed bags. $254 was raised from the lunch. For more information on the ride, and the total raised, visit the Victoria Grandmothers for Africa website at Victoria Grandmothers for Africa

(Click on each image to view an enlargement. Click on the "X" - top right corner to close..)

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Regional Gathering

Seventy-five Island Grandmothers came to the Gathering. Attendees represented nine of the eleven groups that make up the BC Islands Region of the Grandmother-to-Grandmother Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Hosted by the Comox Valley Glacier Grannies, the gathering was attended by members from Campbell River, Merville, Denman Island, Oceanside, Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Salt Spring Island and Victoria. Hornby Island and St Andrews Sidney did not send representatives.

The Theme of the Gathering was “Connect and Inspire”.

The connecting began as soon as the doors opened – conversations sprung up immediately. Some reconnected with long-time acquaintances, while others made new friends.

After some songs led by Tina Filippino (Merville Grand Mothers), we began with a spokesperson from each group telling a little about their group. It was amazing to hear how other groups were formed and what each is doing.

SLF staff members Healy Thompson and Asmita Persaud shared news from the SLF. The Grandmothers Campaign is growing internationally; there are 5 groups in Australia and one in the U.K. The next Grandmothers Gathering will be in Tanzania, date to be determined. Asmita briefly explained the structure of the Foundation and how money earned by Grandmothers Groups is distributed to community-based organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Field workers from the SLF monitor how these funds are spent and note the changes they bring to the communities. Healy shared a touching and inspiring story from the soon-to-be-published “Grandmother’s Book”. Beds Without Breakfast was a popular topic, and a lively discussion followed.

There were two “breakout” sessions; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Asmita facilitated “Supporting Groups” at both time slots; Healy’s topic for both was “Expressing Solidarity”. Bette Axani’s (CVGG) morning session dealt with using Facebook to get connected, and in the afternoon she hosted an executive roundtable discussion.

Before the day ended, attendees were encouraged to discuss (with the people near them) if they had been inspired and what inspired them. A spokesperson from each table was encouraged to share what they had discussed.

Serious parts of the day were interspersed with fun events such as singing, a skit by the Merville Grand Mothers, and the short movie “Alive and Kicking”.

Food and refreshments were on-going. The Marketplace, as always, was a well-loved part of the gathering. There was excellent evidence of the creativity of Grannies and the hard work that goes into raising funds. Crafts sold by the Glacier Grannies made $669.

The day ended with us getting up to do our Flash mob “Sisters are Doing it for Themselves”.

Members from several groups had been involved with the planning of this event from the beginning. They headed committees and contributed in many ways. The success of the gathering can be attributed to all.

We now look forward to the next Regional Gathering in 2019.

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Barb Taylor was Master of Ceremonies for the event, backed up by a planning committee of Barb Fudge, Barb Taylor, Bette Axani, Dianne Wade, Gillian Little, Judith Hamilton, Kate Clark, Jane Sigurdson, and Colleen Black.

Barb Taylor welcomed current members, past members and long-time supporters, including Sally Gellard, and thanked the planning committee.

Barb set the stage for the founding of the Glacier Grannies by giving a short introduction to the Stephen Lewis Foundation and the start of the Grandmother to Grandmother Campaign. In honour of the founding members, she then gave a precis of the Grannies’ first year – 2007 - noting who had joined at the different meetings, and the events that had been organized. Barb asked the members from that first year to stand, and reminded them that they had made over $6000 that year. The members of the first executive were asked to come forward, and were invited to share their motivations for joining the Glacier Grannies, and for memories of their time with the group.

Kate Clark spoke to the chart she had made, listing all the group’s fundraisers since its inception.

Linda Munro quoted from the end of the speech she had made at a service at Comox United Church

Photographs of the founding members were taken, and tea was enjoyed. For a fuller description of the afternoon, open either this PDF file or this Word file

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