On August 11, 2006, The Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) launched The Grandmothers’ Gathering, a historic three-day event that brought together close to 100 sub-Saharan African grandmothers and 200 Canadian grandmothers from across the nation and strengthened a solidarity movement in support of African grandmothers and their orphaned grandchildren made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. GCI Group Canada proudly donated their time and services to support public relations efforts for the Gathering.

The Grandmothers’ Gathering was an initiative stemming from the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign launched in March of this year by the SLF. In addition to developing media materials, GCI spearheaded media relations outreach pro bono for this ground-breaking project. The Gathering gained extraordinary national and international media interest, with interviews, photos and coverage appearing in outlets including Canada AM, CNN, BBC, Global TV, CITY TV, CBC, CTV, The Canadian Press, The Toronto Star, The National Post, The Globe and Mail, 680 News, CBC Radio, AM 640, CFRB 1010, Chatelaine, Flare, The New York Times, Agence France-Presse, All Africa, The Spanish International News Agency – among many others.

The event proved to be a resounding success and the GCI team was thrilled to be a part of such a rewarding and unique experience. The Stephen Lewis Foundation helps to ease the pain of HIV/AIDS in Africa by funding community-level projects that provide care and support to women, grandmothers, orphans and people living with AIDS. For more information visit www.stephenlewisfoundation.org