A tale of maternal love is playing out right now in Cranbrook as grandmothers use yarn donated by another grandmother to raise money for grandmothers in Africa.

When Cathy Ernst's mother Patricia passed away last year, she left behind a boon of knitting and craft supplies at her Chilliwack home. Over the years, Patricia had collected some 40 tote bins of yarn, five boxes of never-used, hand-knitted towels, 20 milk crates of sewing patterns, and six bins of dolls. It was enough to fill a 10 by 12-foot room, floor to ceiling.

"When I went down there when she passed away, I brought all of her craft supplies with me. The things she loved, I did not want to leave behind," said Cathy.

"My mother was always a pay-it-forward lady. She was always good at giving back."

Cathy wanted to continue Patricia's legacy of knitting to help others. Overwhelmed with the quantity, she began looking for a group to donate the products to. She found the GoGo Grannies.

"The more research I did, I felt almost like somebody sent me in that direction," said Cathy.

With the help of her children, Cathy called the ladies in GoGo Grannies - who were incredulously that one woman could have collected so many goods - and organised to drop the boxes off.

"We had anybody from the GoGo Grannies come when we were sorting through it and take whatever they could use," said Norma Juozaitis, a member of the group which raises funds for grandmothers in Africa.

Now the members of GoGo Grannies are busy sewing items from the wool to sell at an upcoming craft sale, and at the annual craft fair in fall. Hats, scarves, blankets, bags and rugs will be made from Patricia's wool and the proceeds of the sales will go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

Founded in 2003, the Stephen Lewis Foundation is a Canadian charity that supports community-based organizations working to turn the tide of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Its Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign funds community-level organizations in 15 sub-Saharan African countries that provide grandmothers with much needed support, such as food, housing grants, school fees for their grandchildren and grief counselling.

The Cranbrook branch of the campaign, called the GoGo Grannies after the Zulu word for "caregiver", started in 2007 when philanthropist Stephen Lewis visited Cranbrook himself to speak about his organization at the College of the Rockies.

"The college did an astounding event and people from all over the valley came here to hear him speak. As a result of that, our group started," said founding member Brenda McLennan.

"Stephen Lewis recognised the value of having a grandmothers campaign and what we could do. It just took off," said Brenda.

Since then, the GoGo Grannies has grown to 60 members in Cranbrook and Kimberley, as well as offshoots in Invermere, Creston and Nelson. Together, the GoGo Grannies have raised $30,000 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation since 2007.

"What is so unique about our group, different from any other organization in town, is that everybody does what they are capable of doing and what they enjoy doing," said Brenda.

One member sold lunch to her husband's office staff to raise money, another had a garage sale, others hold bake sales, or sell quilts they have made.

Using wool donated by the Kootenay Knitting Company, Ann Flegel, a member since the group began, knits toques for the cause.

"I was just giving them away for a long time and then I decided to start asking $10 for them and donate the money," she said. "I think I've made over $1,000 just selling hats."

The latest innovative idea from the GoGo Grannies is its "Boomer 65" challenge. This year, the first of the Baby Boomer generation will reach 65, and the Grannies are encouraging those seniors to donate $65 to the Stephen Lewis Foundation in aid of their milestone birthday.

"We encourage all of you to think about this milestone and come up with a creative way to celebrate with each other and our African sisters and the orphaned children in their care," said Brenda.

It's just another example of how the GoGo Grannies support other, less fortunate grandmothers.

"It's a very special, caring group of people," said Brenda.

In fact, Cathy recognises her mother's generous spirit in the members of GoGo Grannies.

"The more I heard about what the ladies did, I realised this is exactly what my mother would have loved," said Cathy. "She would have joined GoGo Grannies!

"That's something my mum was famous for: she just gave. It was within her heart."

A beloved mother, grandmother and quiet advocate for anyone in need, Patricia Ernst passed away suddenly last year after suffering a bleed in her brain.

"They expected her to only survive 24 to 48 hours and she lived 10 days to die on the exact same day as my dad, one year apart," said Cathy.

Although they were close and spoke on the phone regularly, Cathy had seen her mother only once since moving to Cranbrook in 2007.

"We had taken over their mortgage to help out so that my dad could stay in the care home and my mom could keep her home. So we had to make choices and one of them was not to be able to go see her," said Cathy.

When Patricia took ill and passed away, Cathy returned to the coast to deal with what her mother termed "her treasures". As well as the enormous quantity of craft supplies, Patricia collected antique furniture and records, which Cathy sold and gave away before leaving Chilliwack. Then, she packed a 26-foot U-Haul truck with the rest of Patricia's belongings - and lovingly brought her mother in a casket to be buried in Cranbrook near her family. Cathy needed that one last trip with her mum, she said.

"For me, it was bringing her and her treasures home," said Cathy.

It was Cathy's children - especially son Dean, 17 - who began looking for some way to continue his grandmother's legacy.

"My son loved his grandmother very much. They had a very close bond between them. For him, seeing what she did continue with other people, seeing what she loved carry on, that was a big thing for him," said Cathy.

"My mother didn't shy away from anyone. It didn't matter if you were a young person with tattoos and piercings all over you, to an older person; it didn't matter what walk of life you were from, she befriended you.

"You hear about the quiet people who do amazing things. And that was my mom," said Cathy.

Now Patricia's spirit will live on in the items that will be knitted, crocheted and sewn from her craft supplied and sold at the craft sale, and her spirit will live on for the grandmothers in Africa who support their orphaned grandchildren.

"I think we are going to be surprised by the projects that come out of Cathy's mother's legacy," said Norma.

The GoGo Grannies craft and craft supplies sale will be held on Saturday, April 2 at the Cranbrook United Church hall from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, about the GoGo Grannies, call 250-489-4033.