Our friends at the Rotary Guelph South club, in partnership with the GoGo Grandmothers of Guelph (the 4Gs), are running another scrabble party this year to fundraise for The Bench in Guelph, and grandmothers in Africa caring for their orphaned grandchildren. This fun and enjoyable event will be on Saturday, April 18, 2026 from 2-4pm at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 234 in Guelph. Tickets are $25 and available HERE.
Play Scrabble in tables of four, vying for bragging rights and cool prizes
Visit the Carnival Corner
Participate in a 50/50 draw
Shop for gifts (including DIY craft and science kits)
Browse a collection of vintage scrabble games
Vote on the best team name
THE BENEFICIARIES
THE BENCH is literally a black, steel, city sidewalk bench on upper Wyndham Street near the Woolwich intersection in Guelph, beside which volunteers provide useful items to folks in need, for 30 minutes, six days a week. Depending on donations, the visitors might find a hot meal, a sandwich, cookies, bread, bottles of water, protein bars, drink supplements, hygiene products, and on a good day, fruit and pizza. It takes ‘a village’ to come together to make this happen and it has been operating at this outdoor location in Guelph since 2017 when the relief organization, Out of Poverty Society, lost its 40 Baker Street home, and the late Ed Pickersgill continued his humanitarian work on the sidewalk with a small, mobile, scaled down operation. Today, The Bench operates as a free-standing, community-supported effort with no government funding, relying on donations, and it is a crucial, consistent source of food, supplies and connection for downtown residents in need.
THE GOGO GRANDMOTHERS OF GUELPH (4Gs) are a local volunteer group raising awareness and funds for African grandmothers caring for orphaned grandchildren. As part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation's “Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign”, the Guelph group was founded in 2006 as part of a national solidarity movement. The 4Gs organize several different events to support grassroots projects in Africa.