Hundreds of people supported African grandmothers and children at the Royal City Gogos’ annual Artisan Craft sale on the weekend.
Each January, members of the Royal City Gogos start planning for the sale that’s held in New West every November and get busy crafting. Most of the crafts at the sale are made by the Royal City Gogos’ members and supporters, but crafters from other Grandmothers Campaign groups in the region are also invited to contribute.
“This is our eighth annual Artisan Craft sale, and it was our biggest ever,” said Royal City Gogos member Janine Reid in an email to the Record. “The weather gods shone on us this weekend, and we had 980 people through the doors over three days – that’s 230 more people than last year. There were 75 people in the door in the first 10 minutes of opening on Friday night!”
The Royal City Gogos work in solidarity with grandmothers in Africa, where 14 million children have been orphaned by the AIDS pandemic.
“Many of them are in the care of their grandmothers, who mourn the loss of their own beloved children and begin to parent again with few resources,” Reid said. “The Grandmothers Campaign has raised $35 million in 13 years, and Royal City Gogos have contributed more than $500,000 since we began in 2008.”
Reid said the Stephen Lewis Foundation gets the money to the people who need it most, as 90 per cent of the money raised goes directly to carefully screened community-based organizations in 15 African countries that have been the hardest hit by AIDS.
Royal City Gogos has 65 members, but new members are always welcome.
“It’s important to know you don’t have to be a crafter or a grandmother to belong,” Reid said. “For people who can’t meet during the day, we have a group that meets in the evening five times per year, and they socialize with us, undertake projects that support the group, and help to staff our events.”
In addition to the Artisan Craft sale, the group undertakes a variety of events during the year including a fitness challenge, a 100-kilometre cycle ride and a “wild card” event, which could be a fashion show and tea, a garden tour, or a series of wine tastings in heritage homes.
“We like to mix it up!” Reid said. “We also have a school fundraising program called The Red Shoelaces, where school children can raise funds with us to send orphan children to school in Africa. Children to children - what could be better?”
For more information or to contact the Royal City Gogos, go to www.royalcitygogos.org.
