Grandmothers-by-the-Lake brings new mojo to fundraising effort

Oct 04, 2012

Photo: Adele Colby (3rd from left) with band members and other members of the Grandmothers-by-the-Lake group

Best known for their butter tart and spring plant sales, members of Grandmothers-by-the-Lake, the local chapter of the Stephen Lewis Foundation's Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, recently busted a new move on their fundraising front. On September 29 the group along with 100 plus supporters shook their booties on the dance floor at the Rivendell Golf Club in Verona to the sounds of well known blues band Shaun Riley and the Chrome Hearts. The event was a departure from the group's regular fundraising themes and as their chair Adele Colby explained, was a new, creative development. “With this event we were trying to attract a different crowd. And we lucked out when we found out that Rivendell wanted to put on a blues night of their own. This was really a match made in heaven,” Colby said, adding that club manager Jim Lansdell was instrumental in helping to make the event a reality.

Blues front man Shaun Riley and his stellar band had no trouble getting the crowd into the groove. In between songs guests bid on a number of items generously donated by individuals and businesses from Verona, Tamworth, Sydenham and beyond, and guests also enjoyed a midnight buffet.

Colby, who has been a member of Grandmothers-by-the-Lake since 2007, became more fervent in her fundraising efforts after a 2010 trip to Africa where she saw first hand the almost insurmountable challenges that African grandmothers are faced with daily. “That trip totally changed me. I left here committed and came back a missionary. I was totally won over by the courage, the integrity, the love and the dedication of these African women. I could not believe that they, who have suffered so much and lost so much, were prepared to put that aside and say, 'We have a job to do.' These women are the heart, the soul and the spirit of Africa and without them there would be little hope.”

The Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign supports a variety of grassroots programs set up by the African grandmothers and funds raised here are used to provide food, shelter, transportation, clothing, health care, schooling, housing, skills training, bereavement counseling, HIV awareness training and support groups in over 350 programs and community projects that have been set up on the ground in sub-Saharan Africa to help support the over 14 million children orphaned there by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The campaign is unique in that over 90% of the funds raised here go directly to the African grandmothers. Colby said that the work of her group is definitely gaining recognition in the community and that this event has helped to attract those who might want to help but are not sure how to go about it. “Most people really do want to offer help and this event is a way for those who do not normally get out to our other regular events to contribute.”

Judging by the success of the event, this grandmothers group is putting their creativity to good use in coming up with new and inventive ways to help support their fellow African grandmothers abroad. Anyone can make a donation by contacting Adele at 613-375-8845 or donating on-line at www.grandmotherscampaign.org