A GRAND opportunity for fundraising, advocacy, awareness

Submitted by Marjorie Kort – 

The GRAND Marketplace on November 14 at the Churchill Seniors’ Centre (345 Richmond Rd.) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be the scene of a grand bazaar! Here you will find new and gently used brand name women’s clothing, high quality goods, beautiful crafts and homemade food at ridiculously low prices. Grandmother Moon will be there to read your tarot cards and you can get a delicious homemade lunch at the Sweet and Savoury Café.

One World Grannies showing off some of the goods available for purchase at the November 14 GRAND Marketplace: Kitchissippi residents Cathy Blauer, Trudy Robertson and Marjorie Kort.
One World Grannies showing off some of the goods available for purchase at the November 14 GRAND Marketplace: Kitchissippi residents Cathy Blauer, Trudy Robertson and Marjorie Kort.

On November 14, ten regional grandmother groups (members of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmother to Grandmother Campaign) will come together to raise funds for grassroots organizations in Africa. The money raised will provide African grandmothers and the children in their care with income generation activities, bereavement counselling, HIV awareness training and testing, home visits, support groups, school fees, housing, seeds for gardens and more.

In sub-Saharan Africa, grandmothers are raising some 15 million children and young people orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Here in the Ottawa/Gatineau region, 23 groups of Canadian grandmothers and “grand-others” support their efforts to make a better life and future for themselves and their families.

In the words of Cathy Blauer, a resident of Westboro and a member of the One World Grannies: “We raise funds and awareness, and advocate for policies and programs that will improve the situation for the grandmothers in Africa. Our volunteer work is based on respect and solidarity, not charity. The African grandmothers are the courageous and unsung heroes of Africa. They are the experts in what is needed and what to do.”

Get Involved:

  • Join us between 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on November 14 at the GRAND Marketplace, Churchill Seniors’ Centre, 345 Richmond Rd.
  • Join a group. You don’t need to be a grandmother; grand-others are always welcome. Contact wanderingpeggy@me.com for information on groups near you.
  • Learn more about the grandmothers’ advocacy efforts at grandmothersadvocacy.org.
  • Donate directly to the Stephen Lewis Foundation and learn more about the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign at grandmotherscampaign.org.

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