14 FOCUS MARCH 2018 By Tinie Evans, Special to Focus on Scugog Please join the G-Moms in making the world a better place and empowering the African Grannies. G-MOMS PORT PERRY of Supporting the Stephen Lewis Foundation Where is it? Royal Ashburn Golf Club, 995 Myrtle Road West, Ashburn When is it? Saturday April 14 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. How much are the tickets? $75 What will be happening? We are so excited to have a new feature. Yes we will have entertainment by a talented group of women (some of them are G-Moms) who will sing a wonderful mix of songs and brighten our day! SHOUT SISTERS are our honoured guests. Be ready to be entertained!!! Lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m. This is one of the G-Moms favourite fundraising events as it has so many appealing facets. The doors open at 10 a.m. so guests can enjoy freshly brewed coffee while shopping in the marketplace. There will be many new and exciting things to choose from as well as amazing prizes and silent auction items that include airplane flights, theatre tickets, a week at a cottage and special excursions and experiences. Please visit our special prizes section and see if you may be one of the special winners and enjoy a delicious lunch prepared by their famous chef. Why should I support them? The G-Moms are part of the Grandmother to Grandmother Campaign and we work in partnership with the Grannies in Africa who are raising their orphaned grandchildren due to the AIDS pandemic. We have over 13.3 million orphans (Age 0 to 17) and tragically, there are also 800,000 AIDS-related deaths in Sub Sahara Africa. All proceeds from G-Mom events go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation. It is guaranteed that 90% of the funds get directly to the projects they support. This work helps create income-generating projects so that Grannies can become financially independent and send their grandchildren to school. Without education for the children there is no hope for change and progress. Where can I buy tickets? Marg Webert: webertmarg@gmail.com, Royal LePage: 268 Queen St., Port Perry, Coldwell Banker: 1894 Scugog St., Port Perry (Food Basics Plaza), and All G-Moms. www.gmomsportperry.com G-MOMS OF PORT PERRY present Guest Speakers: The topic of the G-Moms’ Gala this year is Mental Health. There will be a focus on the mental well-being of children and youth. We are very fortunate to have three keynote speakers who will share their expertise and their stories with us. They are Allison Potts, John Dick, and Heather Hawco-Gray. We are thankful for their help and their contributions. Allison Potts: Allison is a clinical social worker with 25 years of experience in the field of mental health and addictions. She is currently a professor with the Mental Health and Addiction Worker Program at Fleming College. Allison has served as the Concurrent Disorders System Integration Lead with Pinewood Centre of Lakeridge Health and as the Mental Health Leader for the Durham District School Board. She is an advocate for a public health approach to mental health that breaks down the stigma surrounding mental illness and provides accessible, inclusive, recovery-oriented treatment options. John Dick: John is the Coordinator of the Patient Council at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences. He is one of the founding members of the Patient Council which was establishedin1993.Johnisaformerconsumerofthemental health system and has been a public speaker for the past 15 years with the “Talking About Mental Illness” program (TAMI). John willingly shares his story in order to break down barriers and remove the stigma that is often associated with mental illness. Heather Hawco-Gray: Heather has much experience working in the field of child and youth mental health. She has been a Youth Counsellor with the Durham District School Board for the last 27 years. In her current role, Heather counsels students, supports families, provides crisis intervention, and develops partnerships. Heather also provides suicide intervention training for staff at the school board. As her passion is child and youth mental health, the “Talking About Mental Illness” (TAMI) Coalition is close to her heart. In fact, Heather has chaired this committee since 2014. She has witnessed the positive impact of TAMI on students, families, staff and the entire community. SPRING LUNCHEON