Skip to content

Local grandmothers seek donations

The Sunshine Coast Grandmothers & Grand-Others group is urgently seeking donations of Aeroplan miles by Jan. 17 to send a Canadian delegation of grandmothers to Swaziland for the first-ever African Grandmothers' Gathering.

The Sunshine Coast Grandmothers & Grand-Others group is urgently seeking donations of Aeroplan miles by Jan. 17 to send a Canadian delegation of grandmothers to Swaziland for the first-ever African Grandmothers' Gathering.

The three-day event in March will culminate in a march of thousands on International Women's Day. Patt McGuire of Roberts Creek is the local nominee for "Grambassador."

The Canadian delegation will represent more than 5,000 women from across the country involved in the Stephen Lewis Foundation's (SLF) Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. They will participate in the event alongside African grandmothers from SLF-supported projects who are heading households ravaged by AIDS, raising their orphaned grandchildren with few resources.

McGuire attended the first-ever international Grandmothers Gathering in Toronto in August of 2006. At that time the SLF brought African and Canadian grandmothers together, with the support of Aeroplan. One hundred African grandmothers came to Canada to meet with more than 200 Canadian grandmothers and to mark the International AIDS Conference being held in Toronto at that time.

For the African conference this March, Aeroplan members are being asked to donate miles to offset the travel costs to Swaziland. Through Aeroplan's Beyond Miles' program, Aeroplan miles can be donated directly through the Foundation's Grandmothers to Grand-mothers Campaign website at www.grandmotherscampaign.org. If you don't have access to a computer, please contact Lynda at 604-886-9381 and we will assist you. Any and all donations of Aeroplan miles will be greatly appreciated and will truly be providing support.

- Submitted