The Can Do Grannies can do more than raise funds.
After working the door at the upcoming Whistler event, A Night with Stephen Lewis, members of the group plan to step into schools around Squamish to get youth thinking about those affected by AIDS.
"I'm nervous, but I think it needs to be done," said Elsie Anderson, who shares group co-ordinator duties with Lynn Spatton. Seven of Howe Sound's 12 schools have signed up for the Grannies' presentation. The Grannies themselves won't know what the presentation entails until taking part in A Night with Stephen Lewis on Oct. 19. At this time, local high school students will showcase a PowerPoint presentation they've created about the AIDS crisis.
These students will pedal this presentation across elementary schools in Whistler, but hand it over to the Grannies to take to Squamish."I've never done a PowerPoint presentation before but they're going to train us. It should be interesting," Anderson said with a smile.A desire to help women struggling to support their grandchildren has helped warm up Anderson's cold feet. She said she first became involved in the issue after learning about the Stephen Lewis Foundation in 2004.
The foundation raises funds to help grassroots projects in Africa, which are aimed at helping orphaned children and the grandmothers who raise them. It is led by Lewis, Canada's former ambassador to the United Nations.
"I was really moved by it, I knew I had to help," she recalled.
Anderson was not alone. Another local woman, Mary Billy was already addressing the crisis by forming the Can Do Grannies group in Squamish.
"When the grandmothers thing came up, I just jumped right on that. It seemed like such a sensible way to help these women. Some are raising as many as 20 children," Billy explained.
When it started, it was one of only 12 of its kind in Canada. Since then, the nationwide Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign has burgeoned to about 250 chapters. Members of the Squamish group commit to a monthly donation ranging from $5 to $45. In the past three years, this effort has raised $4,000.
The group does not have set meetings, but congregates through the Internet where emails and website notices keep members connected. One of their greatest inspirations comes from meeting African grandmothers in person.
Students in Squamish will get to hear about this meeting when the Can Do Grannies present to their schools during the week of Oct. 22. Anderson acknowledges that it can be intimidating presenting to teens, but she said she might discover a soft spot in her audience. "Most kids have a fairly good relationship with their grandmother," she said.
