How was the Cochrane Fair able to help grandmothers in Africa?
By hosting an informative fundraising booth for the Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign at the recent fair.
The campaign, initiated 10 years ago in Canada, helps grandmothers in Africa who are caring for the millions of children orphaned by HIV and AIDS.
“As the Cochrane Ag Society is itself a non-profit organization, our contribution to their campaign was to provide them with a feature event time – the Saturday morning special, filled with laughter and interactive entertainment – and provide them with an opportunity to inform people attending the fair what their group is all about,” Isabel Gimber, director of the Cochrane & District Agricultural Society explained.
The fundraising dollars go toward the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which works with a community level organization in Africa that provides the grandmothers and children in their care with essentials, including food, shelter, school supplies, counseling and income generation activities.
Campaign organizers contacted the Cochrane & District Agricultural Society a couple of months ago asking to work in partnership to find a venue and event that would help spread the word about their organization and cause. After some discussion it was decided a booth at the fair would best help the grandmothers, Gimber explained.
The Saturday morning during the Cochrane Fair weekend, the grandmothers hosted a “powerful” booth in a “prominent location” at the marketplace, Gimber said.
While Fair organizers do not know the dollar amount that was raised for the grandmothers, they said they felt the “goal of increasing their profile within the Cochrane community was definitely met by being at the Cochrane Fair” and organizers said they felt the grandmothers were “happy” with that.
Since the campaigns inception a decade ago, there are now chapters across Canada and even globally, including the UK and Australia. Organizers fundraise year round with various events throughout the year.
For more information about the Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign and how to help, go to the official website at grandmotherscampaign.org
