GANG donates handmade items
GANG members donated handmade items to Global TV’s Give Me Shelter project this week.
All donations are shared with women’s shelters.
Thanks Global TV Edmonton for your community support!
ARCHIVES
Delightful treasures in Grandmother’s Cupboard
Have you visited Grandmother’s Cupboard? You’ll find it at the Old Strathcona Antique Mall.
Visit to discover what’s new in the Cupboard!
Fabulous Fabric Frenzy 2019
Thanks to everyone who has donated new, unused fabrics and notions for our next sale.
If you have items to donate, please contact Phyllis (780)469-6327, Judy (780)434-0036 or Ev (780)434-0825 to make arrangements for drop offs and pick ups. We value our partnership with Strathearn United Church; please do not leave donations at the church, except with one of our members.
Please share this information with any and all of your friends and acquaintances who may be downsizing or clearing out their house.
Fabric Frenzy 2019 will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2019. More details will be posted closer to the date.
Working together we achieve a number of objectives: raising funds for a worthy cause, recycling, keeping things out of the landfill, and providing fabric at reasonable cost to sewers and crafters.
Effective Thursday, January 3, 2019, the GANG will be holding weekly folding sessions of donated fabric from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at Strathearn United Church, 8510-95 Avenue.
Donations will be accepted on Thursdays, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm from January 3 until April 11, 2019. Please bring donations to the alley door and ring the buzzer.
To make sure we can use your donation, please check that it fits with the list below.
Preferred donations
- Unused fabric, 1/2 meter or longer
- Thread
- Sewing notions, zippers, hooks, buttons etc.
- Embellishments, ribbons, beads etc.
- Yarn
- Knitting needles
- Crochet hooks
- Unfinished quilting projects
- Boxes of quilting squares
- Batting
- Upholstery/designer fabric
No-no’s
- Mouldy or stained fabric
- Smoky fabric
- Bed or table linens
- Patterns and books
- No unfinished sewing projects i.e. clothing
Shakers and Makers Market a success!
Thank you to all of the volunteers, Southminster-Steinhauer United Church, Global Edmonton, and of course to all of the shoppers who helped to make the day a success. Wonderful crafts, art work, fantastic baking and delicious snacks and lunch!
Scrabble at WP Wagner Leadership Conference
SCRABBLE AT W. P. WAGNER
On Thursday September 27, 12 GANG members went to W. P. Wagner High School to play Scrabble with high school students from across Canada who were in Edmonton to attend a leadership conference. To quote one of the participants: “It was a wonderful heart-warming afternoon playing Scrabble with energetic and enthusiastic groups of young people”. Thank you to Vicki Strang and Ricki Romito for organizing this event, and to the other 10 members who attended. The next day Vicki and Ricki also went to McNally High School and gave 4 presentations on The GANG to students there. A very busy week for them both.
Grandmothers Gathering a great success!
THE NORTHERN ALBERTA GROUPS GATHERING
Saturday, September 29 was a great day of connecting, learning, eating, laughing and shopping. Over 70 of us gathered to attend a variety of sessions. There were grandmothers/others from Eastside Grannies, Grateful Grannies, Hands Across the Sea, Rayanna’s Hope for Africa, Ujamaa Grandmas, and of course The GANG. The day began with a talk by Zodwa Ndlovu, an African grandmother who lost both of her children to AIDS and is herself HIV positive. Zodwa founded Siyaphambili HIV and AIDS Support group. Her talk was both heart wrenching and hopeful. There were a number of sessions offered throughout the day and then the conference closed with a keynote by the journalist Paula Simons talking about The Power of Stories. Paula began by telling us about her two grandmothers who were immigrants to this country. Her talk was both serious and funny and was a great way to end such an enlightening day. A big thank you to Eastside Grannies, Rayanna’s Hope, and to those members from The GANG (Wendy Legaarden, Joyce Madsen, Susan Bell, Lois Gluck) who organized the day. And also to the Grateful Grannies who supplied all the snacks. This day reaffirmed our resolve to work on as we stand in solidarity with our African sisters.
GANG donated fabric to northern communities
From Rita John, Society of Vincent de Paul:
Good Day,
This might be of interest to you…..
The sea can from St Albert arrived in Ulukhaktok a couple weeks ago. Following is a message from Emily Kudlak who is the SSVP North of 60 contact for the Anglican Women’s Auxiliary in Ulukhaktok. She thanked us for the fabric and yarn that arrived on the sea barge, in an email and by a facebook post with the attached photos. Thank-you to the Grannies for Africa, Stephen Lewis Foundation for supporting the North of 60 Project and donating a lot of fabric and yarn to the seven N of 60 communities. There is no doubt that many beautiful items will soon be sewn with the donation. Note, the gorgeous parkas that are sewn in the hamlet of Ulukhaktok.
The Shakers and Makers Market sneak preview!
Members and friends of The GANG have been busy creating handmade items for our first Market, Saturday October 20 at Southminster-Steinhauer United Church, 10740-19 Avenue, Edmonton.
Here are just a few of the items that will be available. We hope to see you there. All proceeds benefit the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign.
Mark the date for Fabric Frenzy 2019!
It’s official – our next Fabulous Fabric Frenzy will be held on April 27, 2019.
Watch this space for more details closer to the event.
Fabric Frenzy 2019 Donations
Thanks to everyone who has donated new, unused fabrics and notions for our next sale.
If you have items to donate, please contact Phyllis (780)469-6327, Judy (780)434-0036 or Ev (780)434-0825 to make arrangements for drop offs and pick ups. We value our partnership with Strathearn United Church; please do not leave donations at the church, except with one of our members.
Please share this information with any and all of your friends and acquaintances who may be downsizing or clearing out their house.
Fabric Frenzy 2019 will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2019. More details will be posted closer to the date.
Working together we achieve a number of objectives: raising funds for a worthy cause, recycling, keeping things out of the landfill, and providing fabric at reasonable cost to sewers and crafters.
To make sure we can use your donation, please check that it fits with the list below.
Preferred donations
- Unused fabric, 1/2 meter or longer
- Thread
- Sewing notions, zippers, hooks, buttons etc.
- Embellishments, ribbons, beads etc.
- Yarn
- Knitting needles
- Crochet hooks
- Unfinished quilting projects
- Boxes of quilting squares
- Batting
- Upholstery/designer fabric
No-no’s
- Mouldy or stained fabric
- Smoky fabric
- Bed or table linens
- Patterns and books
- No unfinished sewing projects i.e. clothing
Aeroplan Miles Matching Week Feb 5-11
Save the Date! Aeroplan Mile Matching Week is nearly here!
From February 5-11, double your donated miles. Spread the word!
Aeroplan is offering Stephen Lewis Foundation supporters an entire week to have every donated mile matched by Aeroplan. During Mile Matching Week, your contribution of miles will be doubled!* Thanks to your miles, more of every essential dollar donated to the SLF goes directly to community-based partner organizations in Africa.
From Feb 5 to 11, visit stephenlewisfoundation.org/aeroplan to donate miles and have Aeroplan match them. Your miles will go twice as far!
How have your miles helped? In November, the Foundation launched its book, Powered by Love: A Grandmothers’ Movement to End AIDS in Africa, and was able to bring 20 African grandmothers and staff of grassroots organizations – experts on community HIV&AIDS programmes – to 42 Canadian towns and cities. There’s no substitute for hearing about the urgent and powerful work to combat the ravages of AIDS in Africa directly from the grassroots experts and leaders themselves. Your contributions of miles help make this possible!
*Aeroplan will match every mile donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation up to 500,000 miles.
Giving Tuesday is November 28
GivingTuesday is a global day of giving. After the sales of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, GivingTuesday is a time to celebrate and encourage activities that support charities and non profits. Whether it’s making a donation, volunteering time, helping a neighbour or spreading the word, GivingTuesday is a movement for everyone who wants to give something back.
“The Grandmothers Campaign is a Canadian grassroots response to the emerging crisis faced by African grandmothers as they struggle to care for millions of children orphaned by AIDS. African grandmothers became parents anew in the midst of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, putting their grandchildren through school, creating support groups to manage grief, and delivering comfort and hope through home-based care. They teach others about HIV prevention and treatment, create local savings and loan groups, and sit on land-rights councils. African grandmothers are leaders, sharing their expertise in their communities and on the international stage, pressing for their human rights and a hopeful future”. (grandmotherscampaign.org)
Show your support for the Grandmothers Campaign. Visit grandmotherscampaign.org and click on the “Donate” button.
GANG members honoured for social justice work
Congratulations to Marilyn McSporran and Kay Douglas, two GANG members who are facilitating the Blanket Exercise to teach the history of Canada from an Indigenous perspective.
In May, Marilyn and Kay were presented with an award by the Sage Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton for their work in Social Justice & Peace.
Read more about the Blanket Exercise and Marilyn and Kay’s work here:
Grandmother Book Launch
Powered by Love: A Grandmothers’ Movement to End AIDS in Africa Paperback – October 10, 2017
By the time the AIDS pandemic in Africa had reached its height in the early 2000s, millions of children had been orphaned. In the face of overwhelming loss, the grandmothers of Africa stepped in to hold families and communities together. Author Joanna Henry and photographer Alexis MacDonald visited eight African countries, interviewing and photographing hundreds of grandmothers (including Sarah Obama, Barack Obama’s grandmother) who are reclaiming hope and resurrecting lives. The extraordinary images and stories of resourceful women fighting for a better future make Powered by Love an inspiration for everyone.
Writes journalist-social activist Michele Landsberg, “We thought we knew what was happening in Africa when the AIDS pandemic raged across the continent, sweeping away 35 million lives. But we never knew it the way this book reveals it, in the shockingly intimate voices of the grandmothers who had to save the abandoned children when no one else was left alive. These voices will leap straight into your heart. Their unguarded faces, in portraits that glow with character, pain and humour, will captivate you.”
In 2006, the Stephen Lewis Foundation launched a campaign to engage Canadian grandmothers to support their African sisters. The Grandmothers Campaign, now a movement 10,000 strong, has raised over $25 million that has gone directly into the hands of African grandmothers and their grassroots organizations. Powered by Love joins this campaign by telling the story of these indomitable women and by directing all royalties from the sale of the book to African grandmothers raising children orphaned by AIDS.
www.grandmotherspoweredbylove.com
Join us for the Edmonton Book Launch, Sunday October 15, 2 – 4 pm at Southminster-Steinhauer United Church, 10740-19 Avenue, Edmonton.
Bring a friend, enjoy refreshments and shop at the marketplace!
GANG Fabric Frenzy featured in Edmonton Journal
‘Granny gang’ aims to sell more than $20,000 in fabric during upcoming sale
In a church basement in southeast Edmonton, dozens of grandmothers fold fabric, sort scarves and untangle yarn.
But this is no knitting circle — the group has raised more than $1 million for charity over the last decade. An upcoming fabric sale on April 22 is estimated to bring in more than $20,000.
“We’re a granny gang,” said Louise Barr, spokeswoman for Grandmothers of Alberta for a New Generation (GANG). “We’re a very creative bunch of women.”
Proceeds from the sale will go to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign run by the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The funds are distributed to community-based groups in sub-Saharan Africa that support grandmothers who are charged with supporting young children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“There are now 240 grandmother groups across Canada who are doing what we’re doing, raising funds and awareness for these African grandmothers. As Stephen Lewis would say, they are the unsung heroes,” Barr said, noting that in 2010 she travelled to Swaziland with the project. “(What we raise) is only a drop in the bucket as to what these grandmothers in Africa need.”
The Edmonton group is comprised of women seniors — the oldest member is 95. “We’re not just grandmothers, but also grand-others, because there are lots of women in our group who don’t have children,” Barr said.
The fabric sale, now in its fifth year, has taken months of preparation. The group spends four hours per week sorting through fabric donations.
“It is a frenzy,” Barr said. “We will have 500 people who come through the door.”
The event will also include the sale of silk scarves, which the group began making from donated fabric two years ago. Scarf sales have brought in $25,000.
“We’ve done a cookbook that has been very successful, we’ve done fashion shows,” Barr said.
On April 22, most fabrics will be sold for one dollar per metre. Quilting fabric will cost five dollars per metre.
“To buy (quilting) fabric in a store, you’re looking at $20 a metre,” said Ev Carter, a member of GANG. “I make quilts for gifts … the sale offers really good buys.”
She said she’s looking for something special this year.
“Sometimes you just see a piece of fabric that inspires you and you’ll build off of that.”
The fabric sale will take place at Strathearn United Church at 8510 95 Ave. on April 22 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Grandmother’s Cupboard is now open!
Thanks to the generosity of the Old Strathcona Antique Mall, the GANG has a new venue. It’s called Grandmother’s Cupboard, and unlike Mother Hubbard’s which she was never able to fill, ours is bursting with antiques, collectibles and curios. We invite everyone to drop by the mall, 10323 78th Ave., and look at what we have to offer.
If you have something suitable for this venue and would like to donate it, please contact Colleen, colkennedy@shaw.ca or Dianne, diannemlinden@gmail.com.
Stories from our work
Stories from Our Work
The Fabulous Fabric Frenzy, 2016
Since 2012, the Fabulous Fabric Frenzy has been an annual G.A.N.G event.* During that time thousands of metres of fabric and yarn have been made available to people in the Edmonton area for very low prices.
Although we readily share the amount of money raised at this event, we less frequently share stories of the more qualitative outcomes of this fundraising event: the lives it allows us to touch; the hopes it fosters; the global inclusiveness we sometimes unknowingly support.
Here are some of those stories, with names altered to shield individual identities:
Brian
Brian comes into the room where bags of yarn are set out on long tables. He’s stocky and freckle-faced. His spikey hair is died jet black. He wears studs in his ears and in each corner of his mouth.
Dianne, a GANG member asks, “Are you a knitter?”
“I guess,” he says. He glances sidelong at her. “I knit and crochet.”
“So you’re a real craftsperson,” she says. “Like me.”
He beams. “And like my grandmother. She taught me everything I know.” Dianne nods, acknowledging the importance of grandmothers in the world.
“What are you working on now?” she asks.
“Well,” Brian says, now quite animated. “I’m in prayer shawl ministry at my church.” He explains the making and blessing of shawls that are given out to people in need of physical or emotional support. “And I knit for my family.”
“You have a very lucky family then.”
Brian turns and looks at the worker directly for the first time. “I’ll bet when you first saw me you didn’t think I was the crafty type. You thought I was . . .”
“Oh, I know a kindred spirit when I see one,” she says. “After all. I’m a grandmother, too.”
Melanie
“I knit slippers, shawls and blankets for the Sisters of the Holy Cross, a relief organization in Haiti,” Melanie says. Gesturing at the two large black bags filled with yarn she’s selected, she adds, “I’ll have to live to be a hundred to use all of this up.”
Holly and Angela
“We’re marking the opening of a show by the Focus on Fibre Association by yarn bombing the seven trees out in front of Enterprise Square. (Yarn bombing, sometimes called yarn storming, guerilla knitting, urban or graffiti knitting originated as a means of personalizing impersonal public places through the use of knitting and crochet.) When we’re finished the trunks of the trees will be covered by colorful squares.”
Bethany
“I’m knitting a huge granny square afghan to keep my legs warm when I’m sitting in the evening.”
Cynthia
Cynthia is very quiet, almost worshipful as she selects baby yarn in pastel shades. “I had a miscarriage,” she says, although she hardly looks old enough. “Now I knit for premature babies. It helps me to keep from thinking about what I’ve lost.”
Susan and Mike
Susan and Mike each have an armful of fabric, which they take to the stage at the end of the large fabric room. They sort through their selections, discussing which piece they can keep and which they will have to return. Grace, a GANG member approaches them to see if she can help. “We just have to be very careful how much we spend,” Susan tells her tearfully. “Mike and I have both lost our jobs and we don’t have anything to spare right now, but I can still sew for our daughters so they look their best at school.”
Grace considers this briefly. “All the fabric goes on sale for half price after 2 PM,” she says. “If you want to leave your bag with me and come back, I think that would be alright.”
“Oh, could you do that?” Susan says.
“Of course,” Grace tells her. She’s already moving their stash of fabric to the counting room.
Brenda
“I’m looking for cotton to make drawstring bags for a charity I’m involved in called “Days for Girls.” She explains that it supplies girls in developing countries with menstrual supplies – eight tri-fold pads, soap, panties, a washcloth and moisture barrier shields. “When girls begin menstruation,” she says, “they often have to leave school because they lack the necessary materials. One girl out of every four leaves school in India, for example. Keeping girls in school helps to break the cycle of poverty.” Brenda says she’s amazed to find beautiful fabric available at such good prices.”
Missy
Missy is first in line to enter the building, having waited outside the building for over forty-five minutes. “I’ve come to the Frenzy for the past two years with my mother,” she says. “But she died during the winter. This time I brought her with me in spirit and promised her that we’d get here early so as not to miss anything.”
Leah
“I always come with a few friends. We have developed a system where we only take a third of what we’ve bought at the sale into the house and leave the rest in the garage. After a while we take another third in. That way our husbands don’t know that we’ve gone overboard again.”
* G.A.N.G. is an acronym for Grandmothers of Alberta for A New Generation. All profits of our fundraising activities go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmother to Grandmother Campaign to assist African Grandmothers raising AIDS-orphaned grandchildren.
Fabric Frenzy generates $23,313.00 for Grandmothers Campaign
A huge thank you to all the volunteers, and shoppers who made this year’s fabric sale a huge success!
We measured, and measured…..
Grandmothers to Grandmothers: Celebrate and Rededicate
Watch this video celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign.
Eastside Grannies featured in Edmonton Journal article
The Eastside Grannies from Sherwood Park are featured in an Edmonton Journal article written by Gladys Teske, which highlights the Grandmother film showing on January 17 . You can read the article here.
New Videos: The ASK HER Talks
The Stephen Lewis Foundation is delighted to share new videos from the second installment of the Ask Her Talks speaker series that recently took place in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto. The grandmothers and grandothers who attended the Talks in each city were keen that we share them with you as soon as possible! The African women who spoke at the Ask Her Talks come directly from grassroots organizations in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. They are frontline workers, organizers and activists who are seized with the challenges of AIDS in the lives of their communities, day in and day out. In their Talks, each woman addresses the herculean efforts being made at community-level by tenacious grassroots organizations to hold governments accountable to those struggling with the virus, and to rebuild families and communities. From beginning to end, the insights, humour, chagrin, and tough analyses of the African women who spoke at the Ask Her Talks challenges us all to think differently about philanthropy, change, and power. Please enjoy the videos of the Ask Her Talks here and share them widely!
ASK HER talks: GANG members connect with their African sisters
The ASK HER talk held in Edmonton on November 23, was a unique opportunity to hear first hand from African women directly involved in supporting and building communities affected by HIV and AIDS. Despite wintry winds and snow, people from Edmonton and area came out to listen and to learn about current conditions in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa.
GANG members enjoyed an informal meal with our African sisters on November 24, and were moved and inspired by their passion and commitment to the people in their communities.
A delicious meal was shared by GANG members, SLF staff and our African sisters.
Hope Chigudu, Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Judy Dube, GANG member
Wendy Legaarden and Joyce Madsen from The GANG’s Education Committee
Vuyiseka Dubula, Peres Abeka and Dorothy Onyango, three of the speakers at the ASK HER talks.
The group of African guests, GANG members and SLF staff pose for a photo.
ASK HER talks coming to Edmonton November 23
The GANG is pleased to partner with the Stephen Lewis Foundation to present the Edmonton ASK HER talks, featuring grassroots leaders and HIV-positive activists from Kenya, Ethiopia, Zimbabawe, and South Africa, speaking about philanthropy, change and power in the context of women’s rights and HIV & AIDS. Visit askhertalks.com for more information.
GANG members invite everyone to Scrabble Fundraiser
Watch GANG members talk about the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign and our annual Scrabble Fundraiser:
The Power of Words Scrabble Benefit 2015
POWER OF WORDS SCRABBLE BENEFIT
Saturday, October 17, 2015
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Southminster-Steinhauer United Church
10740-19 Avenue, Edmonton
The GANG (Grandmothers of Alberta for a New Generation) is holding a fundraiser in support of African Grandmothers who are raising the millions of children orphaned by AIDS.
*Crafts *Prizes *Refreshments
Support the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign under the Stephen Lewis Foundation by:
- Collecting pledges & playing
- Book a table of 4 to play @ $100
- Drop-ins welcome to play @ $25
Please contact:
Louise 780-417-2754 or Phyllis 780-469-6327
