Prince George, B.C. – Another  golf tournament  fundraising event is set for this month,  and this one  has an international flavour.

Set for the 25th of June at the Alder Hills Golf course,  this event  has been organized by the Grandmothers to Grandmothers group in Prince George.

The  Grandmother to Grandmother Society is  part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation and  is aimed at  providing  grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa with things they need to  raise their  grandchildren who have lost their parents to HIV-AIDS.

The Foundation started the Society after recognizing it was the Grandmothers who were  taking on the role of raising  the  children  says  Prince George chapter member  Ruth Meger “Most of the generation below them, their own children,  a large number have  passed away.  So the grandmothers are raising their own grandchildren and the grandchildren of  the villages.  Some have 15 in their household.”

The Prince George chapter is  relatively  young having been  organized in the late fall of 2015.  But since  launching,  this chapter has already  provided  about $15 thousand dollars to  the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmother to Grandmother Society.   Meger says the dollars support a variety of  initiatives “Sometimes its food for the children,  educational supplies,  uniforms and school fees,  medical care, HIV counselling and testing,  because some of the  grandmothers  themselves are HIV positive, adequate housing and bedding support groups and home visits .”

The Golf tournament  fundraiser will  cost  $65 dollars to enter for 18 holes of golf and dinner.  It will start around 1 pm.   Meger says you don’t have to be a great golfer to  take part  “It’s a best ball format,  so  everybody goes to where the best ball in your group is and you all lay down your ball and play from there.”   The event includes prizes,  a silent auction and a putting contest.

The one thing this event doesn’t have is a fundraising  goal says Meger “When we began we said we weren’t  going to stress about meeting (fundraising) goals, we’re just going to do fundraisers we have fun at,  and that whatever we earn to send in, will be more than they had, so we’re not going to stress about  amounts of money,  we are just going to do what we can.”

You can find more information on this event  or to pre-register, by contacting  any  one of the following  people

• RUTH MEGER
  250-964-0498
  ruth.meger@gmail.com
• LOUISE EWEN
  250-962-9017
  normewen@telus.net
• MARIE PARKER
  250-964-6265
  parkerandco@telus.net