It is with great disappointment that I post this announcement.

We have been informed by Mr Lewis’ executive assistant that he is unable to fulfill our request to  speak. I have been in touch with the Executive Director of Ecojustice, Devon Page, and we are both hopeful that in the future we can hold a joint venture that will call attention to these two very important causes.

Carol Lundine

Communications

In a special Granny Bulletin, the Stephen Lewis Foundation appeals to members to donate air miles on February 23 or 24, to be matched by a sponsor up to 500,000 miles.  For further information, click here:  February Granny Bulletin.  (posted by Eileen Dombrowski for Joyce Eilers, our group Liaison)

Calling all ‘Material Girls’ and knitters…

to the first Oceanside Grandmothers event of 2016!   Come and visit our FABRIC & YARN SALE for a great selection of inexpensive fabric, yarn, wool, books, patterns, notions, machines and accessories.  The sale will be held at Knox United Church, 345 Pym Street, Parksville on Saturday, March 12th from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.  Parking is plentiful.  Admission is free.  Net proceeds will go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers Campaign.   

WE WELCOME DONATIONS OF:  fabrics [no sample books please], yarn, notions, books, patterns, and machines [in working order] for all things sewing, quilting, knitting and crocheting.  Items can be dropped off at Knox on Thursday, March 10 from 9 am till noon).  Info: (250)752-1296 or (250)954-1885.

The Grannies’ Bottle Drive has proved an excellent way of raising money and we’d like to do it again this year on Saturday May 28^th.   However, experience has shown us that this will only be possible if we have enough volunteers to keep the workload reasonable.   There is a direct correlation between the number of volunteers and the amount of money collected.

We need about 20 volunteers to help with picking up, sorting and counting the refundable containers donated to us.   We also need the use of trucks, vans, trailers or SUV’s to pick up donations on our routes. Volunteers choose the number of hours they can work. The Drive itself will be shorter this year – from 10.00 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the sorting and counting finished by 3p.m.

Some Grannies have said that the work required is “too dirty” but really it isn’t very dirty – we wear old clothes and gloves and most of the bottles and cans are clean.   It is no “dirtier” than the collections that the Bottle Brigade does every week! We are very careful about safety and provide chairs for people who can’t stand for long periods.

So come on, Grannies! Volunteer and bring your spouse, friend child or significant other.

To volunteer please respond to lornareid@shaw.ca cadodd@shaw.ca or barbwhyte@shaw.ca

posted by Eileen Dombrowski for Lorna Reid, Bottle Brigade

What an excellent meeting on Tuesday!  As a follow-up, the following are now available for downloading from the For Members Only pages of our website:

• The minutes of the meeting of Tuesday, January 19, 2016 are ready on the page ARCHIVES: minutes of past meetings
• The updated Directory, including updated contact information and photos of new members, is ready on the page MEMBERSHIP AND DIRECTORY.
• Also on the page MEMBERSHIP AND DIRECTORY is the first edition — the January edition! — of New Members 2016, with the photos and names of new members we’ll want to get to know.

You’ll need your password to get into these pages (if your browser doesn’t remember it for you).  If you’ve forgotten it, email me and I’ll send it to you.

Eileen Dombrowski, membership/Directory and website. oceansideg2g@shaw.ca

Below you will find full information on the Grandmother Gathering/Conference in Vancouver on March 11 and 12: Reflection and Renewal.  This is the event that Joyce was presenting in our meeting this morning. It will be held at John Oliver Secondary School, 530 East 41st Avenue in Vancouver.  Organized by the Greater Van Gogos, it is a provincial gathering of all interested Grandmother groups in BC.

It’s just plain bad luck that this gathering falls on the same weekend as our fabric sale, where many of us will be involved.  If you choose to attend the Vancouver Gathering/Conference, though, you may want to coordinate with others for transportation and accommodation.  To be put in touch with others, give your name to Joyce Eilers at fjeil52@shaw.ca  You are asked to have your registration form posted to arrive to the Vancouver group by February 22, 2016.

Eileen Dombrowski for Joyce Eilers

ACCESSING INFORMATION

QUICK SUMMARY OF EVENTS: On Friday evening,  Stephen Lewis and Ilana Landsberg-Lewis will be speaking, and a Marketplace will run except during their talk. On Saturday morning, a keynote speech will be given by visiting African grandmothers.  On Saturday afternoon, people attending the Gathering will be able to choose two workshops to attend out of a menu of ten.  Details of these events and others, plus information on transportation and accommodation, are laid out in the Reflection and Renewal Information Package and Registration form, accessible on our own Oceanside Grandmothers website.

To access this information:  Go to the Members Only section (with your Oceanside g2g password), to the temporary event page.  Click on the links there.

FURTHER NOTES FROM VAN GOGOS

The information package contains:

• Information about the conference
• Conference schedule
• Workshop information
• Marketplace information
• Accommodation information

The registration package contains:

• Registration form to be completed by each attendee
• Information on where to send your group’s forms
• Costs and payment information

Please note the following highlights:

• To register, print out and complete one Registration Form for each conference attendee and then mail it with payment by cheque or money order, made out to Greater Van Gogos, to the event registrar, as indicated on the form.
• Pre-registration is required and the registration deadline is Monday, February 22, as we must have time to give final numbers to the caterer and organize the Saturday workshops.
• You may register for Friday evening only for $20; Saturday only for $35 or both days for $50.  Only grandmothers group members may attend on Saturday.
• You may invite guests for Friday evening, but you have to register and pay for them on your registration form, including their names and payment with your registration.  This event will not be advertised to the public.
• There will not be tickets issued for either of these events, but there will be a list of paid attendees at the event registration desk.
• We are covering the costs for Friday evening with sponsorships and registration.  We are covering the costs for Saturday with our New Horizons for Seniors grant and registration.
• You will notice the empty “ placeholders” for African grandmothers in the information package.  We are incredibly excited that the SLF is bringing six women from Africa for our event, but we can’t announce their names until their visas are approved.  Other aspects of this gathering are still in the planning stages, and as they are decided, an updated info package will be posted.

If you have any questions about the information package or registration, please contact judyjohnson@telus.net or info@greatervangogos.org.

Craft market 

If your group wants to participate in the Friday evening marketplace, please let Arlene Racicot at aracicot2@yahoo.com know as soon as possible, if you haven’t already done so.

Travel Subsidy

We know that those travelling from across the province face travel costs including but not limited to the cost of ferries. Our New Horizons for Seniors grant included a small amount to provide some support for those travelling. No final decisions have been made on how this amount will be shared. If members of your group would like to apply to share in this subsidy, please email me at judyjohnson@telus.net . Please indicate in your email how many members will be travelling and how (car pooling, ferries, bus, etc). Our committee will decide based on the number of requests, costs and distances how the subsidy will be shared. Thank you for your patience while we work through this process in an attempt to be as fair as possible. Please let me know if there are any questions.

Group photos 

There will be a digital photo show of BC grandmothers groups as well as photo books produced for gifts for the African grandmothers. Please send good quality digital photos of your group, with your group name indicated in the file name, to Hannah Diamond at hannahdiamond@shaw.ca as soon as possible.  You might want to bring a camera to your next meeting so you can show us your smiling faces!

In Solidarity,

Judy Johnson and Diane Walker, Greater Van Gogos Co-chairs

For the meeting this coming Tuesday, please download a copy of the agenda by clicking on the following link:  G2G Meeting Agenda (19.01.16)  

See you there!

posted by Eileen Dombrowski for Kathy Grand

Happy New Year everyone. All the best for a happy healthy 2016.

if you have an agenda item for this months meeting please email it to Kathy Grand, (gkgrand@shaw.ca) by January 13. Thank you.

See you in April.

Regards,

Carol Lundine

Communications

Happy New Year everyone!

If you do not have a name tag and would like to pick one up at the January  meeting please let me know as soon as you can.

All the best,

Carol Lundine

Communications.

cairncroft@shaw.ca