Where to find Angels in December

There are two opportunities in Victoria this weekend to pick up some angels, large and small.

• Tillicum Mall
• Friday to Sunday, November 30 to December 2
• mall hours, lower floor display
• 
  
• Dickens Fair
• Saturday December 1
• 2 to 8 pm
• James Bay Community School
• Oswego Street

Some generous shops around town also carry a rack of angels for quick gift ideas.

Message from Malawi

Delirah Phiri sent this message in November:

"Hello

We hope you are all fine.

We watched the video you guys uploaded -  felt special when watching it but we all know you are the real special ones.

We have paid school fees for the school fees beneficiaries, and have attached the pictures of the students.

sending regards

Delirah"

Recent photos from Zambia

Matthew Dil took some great photographs of our recent Dil family trip to Makeni Ecumenical Centre, posted to flickr, at the following link:

Matthew's pictures of Makeni

The orphanage children had a "fun-day" organized by community members in Makeni, and Pierre, Lee Ann, Andrew, and Matthew helped with activities. You will see pictures (in link above) of a giant inflatable "bouncy-castle", that the orphans (and some other local children who joined in for the day) absolutely loved. We were amazed no one had an accident! There was also a tug-of-war with an old hose-pipe (that broke spectacularly spilling kids and adults all over the place), a tag-team water bucket race, and a limbo competition favouring the smallest kids! There are also some pictures of Makeni in general herewith.

I have also posted some general pictures of the buildings and students at Makeni here:

Pierre's photos

Pierre Dil

Open House Sat. Nov. 24

Our second Open House will be held

Saturday Nov. 24
11 am to 2pm
Cook Street Activity Centre
380 Cook St., Victoria
no admission charge
cash or cheque only

Large and small angels will be available, for donations from $7 to $25. Come out to see what other angel-makers are doing, and get some new ideas.

Check out some of the beautiful standing angels made this year. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

African AIDS Angels will be selling angels at Videa Fair

Dear Friends,

Please join us for:

VIDEA’s

Fair Trade Fair

Saturday November 24th,

First Metropolitan United Church Hall

932 Balmoral Rd, off Quadra

10am till 4pm

A chance to support over 35 local fair trade vendors, make your holiday purchases with a conscience, enjoy great live music, food from the International Women’s Catering Coop, good friends and lots more!

Admission by donation, lots of door prizes,

Wheel chair accessible,

Please post widely!

More information at www.videa.ca

Big Open Houses

While African AIDS Angels has put on a big Open House in November for about the past 6 years, this is the first time there will be two events instead of one. For anyone who finds it difficult to get to Swan Lake Nature House (which will have the best selection), there will be a smaller Open House at Cook Street Activity Centre the following week.

There will be beautiful standing angels as well as the best examples of hanging ones. Both venues are wheelchair accessible.

Open House 1

• Sat. Nov. 17, 10 am - 3 pm 
• Swan Lake Nature House 
• 3873 Swan Lake Road 
• off McKenzie Ave. e. of Blanshard, take Rainbow or Nelthorpe 
• no admission, tea & cookies provided 
• minimum donation for angels $10, larger ones as marked
• credit, debit, cash and cheques accepted 

Open House 2

• Sat. Nov. 24, 11 am - 2 pm 
• Cook Street Activity Centre 
• 380 Cook Street in the Village 
• no admission 
• minimum donation for angels $7, larger ones as marked
• cash or cheque only

Please come and bring your friends. For printable copies of the posters or a smaller handout, send an email to africanaidsangels@gmail.com.

Fund-raising Opportunities

The following events are coming up in Victoria. Please volunteer now for the ones where help is needed.

In addition, if you have an opportunity to add a table or a few angels to another event, please let us know. Consider your workplace, tea parties, craft fairs, before or after Sunday service at church. This can really help our efforts.

• Sat. Nov. 3  Westshore Town Centre table, 9:30-5:30
• Sat. Nov. 17  Angels Open House, Swan Lake Nature House, 10-3 - volunteers needed
• Sat. Nov. 24  Angels Open House, Cook St. Activity Centre, 10-2 - volunteers needed
• & Sat. Nov. 24  VIDEA Fair Trade Fair, 923 Balmoral at Quadra 10am-4pm


• Fri. Nov. 30 through Sun. Dec. 2  Tillicum Mall table - all volunteer slots now filled !
Hours for 2-hour shifts: Friday Nov. 30 9:30am-9pm
Saturday Dec. 1, 9:30-5:30pm
Sunday Dec. 2, 11 am-5:00pm

• Sat. Dec. 1 Dickens Fair table, James Bay Community School, 2-8 pm

Send an email to africanaidsangels@gmail.com if you can volunteer for a few hours or more.

We still need more angels to supply these tables. Please deliver them in advance (not to sale events) to our supply depot,
Vic Parsons
1473 Banff Place
250-472-6499
lvparsons@shaw.ca

University & College News

Angels will be available this season at the University of Victoria and Camosun College.

The UVic Angels Club has arranged these dates to offer angels on campus:

• Wednesday, November 21, 10-3pm in Maclaurin lobby
• Thursday, November 22, 10-3pm in Clearihue main lobby
• Thursday, November 29, 10-3 pm in Clearihue main lobby

November 29th will also be the day a coalition of clubs are arranging events for World Aids Day. There will be a guest speaker, seminar and film screening that week (Canadian HIV/AIDS Awareness week) as well as information tables set up around campus, with a ribbon picture being taken in front of the library. They are encouraging people to wear red for the occasion.

To note World AIDS Day which falls this year on Sat. Dec. 1, Camosun College's African Awareness Committee will host information tables at the Lansdowne Campus on Monday December 3. Angels will be available at the African AIDS Angels table outside the Fisher Building.

Mid-Island Angels

If you're near Parksville BC on Saturday November 3, check out the beautiful Angels made by the group based in Qualicum Beach.

• World Craft Bazaar - fair trade gifts from around the world
• Knox United Church, 345 Pym St, Parksville
• Saturday November 3, 10am-3pm

Update: They sold 90 of their 104 angels and raised $900!

The Qualicum group describes itself this way: 

"The Parksville/Qualicum group began in 2006 as a social justice action project with the KAIROS (United Church) organization. Towards the end of 2011 that initial group transformed into a smaller autonomous group.  

Since January 2012 the new Qualicum Beach/Parksville group meets on Monday afternoons in a Qualicum Beach home to create Angels. We use donated material and accessories from local businesses and local residents as well as out-of-town interested parties. Because of these many donations and because of discounted fees for any required services by local businesses, our low operating costs allow us to remit approximately 97% of funds raised.  

Currently, our angels are available at a local florist shop and we participate at local events by displaying our angels for sale. We also raise funds through special orders for events and celebrations."

Congratulations on your transformation. We are so grateful for your continuing efforts!

Angel-making for Children

The Youth Committee which makes presentations to schools has come up with a new angel design for younger children. The angels are made from thin foam sheets and are available as kits for teachers at a donation of $3 per student.

To accompany an angel-making session, the committee has prepared a Powerpoint presentation suitable for elementary level. The slides and a script will be emailed to a teacher who has ordered and picked up the kit. The program/activity is also suitable for other children's clubs and groups.

Payment can be made in advance by cash, cheque or credit card through our website. Interested teachers and leaders should send an email to africanaidsangels@gmail.com.

Clip Angels

In exchange for a donation to African AIDS Angels projects, these clip angels make great momentos. They can be used as favours for weddings or birthdays, or easily mailed with a greeting card in regular post. Your guests will appreciate that a donation is being made in honour of their presence at a special event.

The clips can also be used as tree decorations, stocking stuffers, or bookmarks. Christmas colours are available.

Each one hangs with a 3 inch ribbon and may be inserted on the card as shown in the photo. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)  For larger orders of 30 or more, specific colours may be chosen to complement a theme, as well as a specialized card printed. Three weeks' notice would be required for special orders.

Another option for weddings: we can provide a certificate near the guest book to indicate that you have made a donation to African AIDS Angels in honour of the event. A clip angel for each guest would be optional.

The clips are exchanged for donations of $2 each. The cost of mailing quantities out-of-town would be added where applicable.

If you are interested in one of these opportunities, please send an email to africanaidsangels@gmail.com