She's not even a grandmother but she volunteers like one.
Ruth Meger has put some of her recent volunteer effort to a group called Grandmothers to Grandmothers Prince George (G2G PG).
In existence for only about 18 months, this group of local women, who don't have to technically be grandmothers, have been busy raising money to be donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which works with organizations on the ground in Africa to offer support for women who care for orphaned children and those living with HIV/AIDS.
The Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign addresses the AIDS epidemic, which has left millions of children orphaned in Africa, leaving grandmothers to care for them. After enduring the loss of their own beloved children, grandmothers raise their grieving grandchildren with little or no support while dealing with their own health issues that come with aging.
The goal for G2G PG is to raise funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation's efforts. The group has already raised almost $15,000.
Meger, being an avid golfer, thought she could help organize a charity golf tournament with a few other members of G2G PG to help raise funds for those heroic grandmothers in Africa.
The Grandmothers to Grandmothers second annual Charity Golf Tournament will take place at Alder Hills June 25, with an option to play in the Texas Scramble, which is a friendly round of golf and enjoy the barbecue dinner or just attend the dinner, silent auction and have a chance to enter draws for great prizes.
Meger, a founding member of the group, is a retired teacher who taught Grade 4 to 6 within SD 57. She's been retired for four years now.
Meger is also a member of the Canadian Federation of University Women, where she serves as secretary and sits on the social committee as well as being involved with the Retired Teachers' Association. She was also part of the parent advisory council when her children were in school.
She moved to Prince George in 1987 and has volunteered in the community and especially with Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. She is vice president of the ladies' group there, teaches Sunday school, is Sunday school superintendent and offers coffee fellowship, among other volunteer duties.
It was through the church she heard about Grandmothers to Grandmothers and having been involved in other groups over many years, found this type of fundraising effort spoke to her.
The clincher was when a group of women, along with Meger, were shown a video of African grandmothers.
"It was so moving when they told their stories from their own hearts," Meger said.
The group saw 11 people attend the inaugural meeting and has now grown to 80 members.
"There are 240 Grandmothers to Grandmothers groups in Canada and each can be their own thing," Meger said. "So if you have an artsy membership then you'll do artistic kinds of sales and we happen to have some golfers in our group and we've done some exciting things."
There's been a spring fashion show, Bring & Buy sales and an old-fashioned sing-a-long, as well as the first golf tournament held last summer.
Meger knows Prince George is a last minute town and hopes people will register a team to play in this year's golf tournament.
"The community has been great in terms of prizes," Meger said. "We have lots of prizes and great silent auction items but we need golfers to make it a big success."
To register contact Meger at ruth.meger@gmail.com, Louise Ewen at normewen@telus.net or Marie Parker at parkerandco@telus.net.
Flip through The Citizen's Volunteer City series, featuring stand-out volunteers in Prince George:
