The Bottle Brigade has been busy all summer collecting from the Lefty’s Restaurants in Parksville and Qualicum Beach but we have been delighted to receive calls from people who donated to the Bottle drive earlier this year and who are now asking if we still wanted their refundables.   There has also been an increase in the number of people who are asking that their refunds at he Bottle Depots be credited to our  account.  Especially terrific are the number of Grannies who have arranged with neighbours to regularly receive their bottles and cans this is especially useful around holiday periods like July 1, Labour Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.    We began this years’ project with the idea that our program could be greatly expanded and we seem to have been proved correct!   Many thanks to all the Grannies and Friends of Grannies who are helping us achieve a record year!!

 

Christmas Extravaganza

We are now in prime preserving season – yes, just when it gets really hot and sticky the traditionalists among us are stirring hot pots of jams, jellies, pickles and chutneys!   Last year’s Christmas Extravaganza was completely sold out of all the preserves donated by Grannies so there is clearly a market for this type of product.   If you are making preserves of any kind please bear the Extravaganza in mind and make a few jars for this, our biggest fundraiser.   Lorna Reid has volunteered to co-ordinate this section of the fair and will be happy to answer any questions at lornareid@shaw.ca.

 

As many of you know Arbutus Fashion and Lifestyle (previously Arbutus Emporium), 147 West 2nd, has been very supportive of our group– selling totes, jewellery, angels and tickets for many events.

The owner, Jeanne, has offered us  the opportunity to sell our crafts at the Qualicum Beach Street Market on Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00 with set-up at 5:30. If you are interested in managing the craft table any (or all) Thursday evening until the end of August please contact Ann Tardiff 248-1210 or Pam Vest 954-1885 for more information. Thanks in advance.

The African Marketplace is a  fun event featuring fair trade handicrafts, baskets, textiles, books and jewellery from Africa and handmade items from Nanaimo’s NanGo Grannies and  Oceanside Grandmothers. Take a break at the lunch and tea room. Learn about Grandmothers projects in Ethiopia and Rwanda from Paxie Vreede, a NanGo Granny recently returned from a Stephen Lewis Foundation sponsored tour.

Come and have lunch with an African flavour and browse the many items for sale.  It’s a great place for unique and meaningful gifts. There is something for everyone! 

All proceeds go to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, and to fair trade enterprises in Africa.

For more information: 250-753-3699

VIHA will be having a Food Safety Workshop on April 2, at the Parksville Community Centre from 1:30- 4:00 and another that evening from 6:00-8:30. If anyone is interested, please contact Bill or Elizabeth at 250-947-8222.

The bottle drive committee is advancing in its organization for the Drive scheduled for April 12 at Encorp Return-It, 611 Alberni Highway, Parksville.   

At the moment they are looking for volunteers — of more than one sort:

• Do you have teenaged grandkids who wouldn’t mind helping with the physical work of loading and unloading trucks?
• Are you able to volunteer on April 12 to collect recyclables from the areas we select or help sort them?

Please contact lornareid@shaw.ca  orcadodd@shaw.ca if you are willing to help.   If you volunteer please let us know the street & area in which you live.

You can also help by:

• asking your neighbours to bring their refundable beverage containers to your place and taking them with yours when you go to Return-It either on a routine trip or just for the Drive on April 12.   Remember we’re willing to do the pick-up and sorting if you can’t!
• spreading the word by word-of-mouth, e-mail or social media that we’re collecting aluminum pop beer cans, plastic soft drink, water, cooler and spirit bottles, PVC juice bottles, glass beer, wine spirits and cooler bottles, gable topped drink containers (except milk)  and juice boxes.

If you are unable to take your collection to the Return-It Depot please let Lorna or Carolyn know and they’ll arrange pick-up. You can also give them your returnables at the regular g2g meetings.

Thanks from the Bottle Brigade!

Come and learn how to sew our famous tie bags. We need more sewers for tie bags, so the two of us who sew these bags will be giving a lesson on THURSDAY, MARCH 27 at 10:00 a.m. in the private room at SERIOUS COFFEE in Parksville (Heritage Centre Mall, #9-1209 East Island Highway). Please RSVP to Anne at  ian.anne.ward@shaw.ca  so that we have enough instruction sheets prepared.

Diane Tobin and Anne Ward

The Refresh, Re-energize, Respond afternoon upcoming on March 12 is going to be terrific.  With dramatized readings, video clips, small group discussions, and a slide show, this afternoon will inform, uplift and bond anew our Oceanside Grandmothers to Grandmothers group.  So this is a reminder of an afternoon you will not want to miss:  Knox United Church, Wednesday March 12, 1:30pm to 3:30pm.

Remember — the afternoon is not a public event or a fundraiser.  It is a time for our own members and for interested friends we might want to invite.

Could we please get a rough idea of how many people are coming?  Would you mind letting Barb Whyte barbwhyte@shaw.ca know by Saturday, March 8 if you expect to be coming, and if you’ve invited anyone?  This indication doesn’t commit you — you can still change your mind — but helps the organizational group plan better.

The Oceanside Grandmothers to Grandmothers Bottle Brigade is taking on some new activities.  We can all give them support in fundraising for our cause — by taking part in the Bottle Drive and by expanding our own recycling.  No need to double our consumption of Coke or Shiraz!

1.  Bottle Drive April 12

The Bottle Brigade is organizing a Drive scheduled for April 12 at Encorp Return-It, 611 Alberni Highway, Parksville.   Please mark your calendars and start collecting beverage bottles, cans, juice boxes etc. from your friends and neighbours!

We are looking for volunteers to work on April 12 collecting recyclables from the areas we select or helping to sort the items collected.  Please contact lornareid@shaw.ca  or cadodd@shaw.ca if you are willing to help.   (Lorna will be away from February 21 to March 9.)   If you volunteer please let us know the street & area in which you live.

There will be an organizational meeting for volunteers on March 11. Please contact Carolyn at cadodd@shaw.ca for time and location details.

2. Bottle Brigade Expanded Operation

You can help us by:

• asking your neighbours to bring their refundable beverage containers to your place and taking them with yours when you go to Return-It either on a routine trip or just for the Drive on April 12.   Remember we’re willing to do the pick-up and sorting if you can’t!

• spreading the word by word-of-mouth, e-mail or social media that we’re collecting aluminum pop beer cans, plastic soft drink, water, cooler and spirit bottles, PVC juice bottles, glass beer, wine spirits and cooler bottles, gable topped drink containers (except milk)  and juice boxes.

If you are unable to take your collection to the Return-It Depot please let Lorna or Carolyn know and they’ll arrange pick-up. You can also give them your returnables at the regular g2g meetings.

Thanks from the Bottle Brigade!

For now, just note this for your calendar:  Wednesday afternoon, March 12 from 1:30 to 3:30, Knox United Church.  “Refresh, Re-energize, Respond” will be an afternoon of information and uplift.  This Open House will be for our own Oceanside Grandmothers members, with a welcome extended to supporters and anyone else interested in what we’re all about.

We will be doing no fundraising on this afternoon and charging no admission. This is a time for ourselves!

In part, the afternoon will ensure that we all know what our g2g work is for and where the money goes: it will focus on the lives of AIDS-affected grandmothers in subSaharan Africa and the work of the Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. In part, too, the afternoon will give us a chance to connect with each other in discussion and reflection around our own motivation and contribution.

And that’s all for now.  The planning group just met this morning for the first time, and we’ll be back to you with more information later.