Information for members

Grandmothers for Refugees is a grassroots movement organised at a local level according to federal electorate boundaries. We have members across 95 federal electorates. 
Local members are brought together by an Electorate Co-ordinator to determine the nature and frequency of local activities. Each electorate is able to nominate a representative (not necessarily the coordinator) to an Electorate Representative Committee (ERC).
The Electorate Representative Committee meets monthly online, (via Zoom) to maximise participation. It is a key meeting space where Grandmothers for Refugees share information, deliberate, co-ordinate actions and guide and support the Executive.

The role of the ERC members

To bring issues and actions raised in their electorate to the ERC
To participate in discussion about issues and actions that will inform the decision making of Grandmothers for Refugees
To feed back to their electorate the discussion and any decisions/requests made at the ERC
To volunteer as appropriate and convenient to participate in occasional specific interest groups.

Executive

An Executive of five is open to nomination by the membership.  The Executive Committee works with the Electorate Representative Committee (ERC) to provide leadership and direction towards achieving the movement’s goals. Members of the Executive are required to take on a broad, movement-wide perspective and involvement.
Executive members
Margaret Browne – Chair
Janet Joss
Virginia Schneiders
Ann Butler

Our values and behaviours

Read here.

Tips for Electorate co-ordination

Grandmothers for Refugees is a grass roots advocacy movement organised by federal electorate. As is the nature of a grassroots movement, we find that our dozens of groups all operate differently, depending on preferences and circumstances of their local members. Most groups meet regularly, others get together from time to time. Meetings are held either formally, more informally over a coffee or in connection with a particular activity, such as letter writing or holding a weekly street vigil.

To operate effectively, any group requires some level of coordination.
We have surveyed electorate coordinators and found that there is a set of core activities which maximises the effectiveness of our electorate groups. These coordination activities are undertaken by an individual or are shared by a few. They are not onerous, but they are highly valued.
>> Organising regular or occasional meetings
>> Maintaining a membership list and welcoming new members
>> Sending regular messages out to the group
>> Organising community actions and liaising with other community groups
>> Liaising with the executive and planning group on issues and campaigns
>> Undertaking and receiving correspondence which is kept on file with other significant papers
>> Managing orders of Grandmother for Refugees’ merchandise and collecting money and any donations for deposit in the central bank account
We also encourage someone in each electorate to send in brief news of local activities with photos (.jpeg file format please) for our newsletters, website and social media posts. Email us here with your suggestions.
We can offer someone to support you if you are trying to mobilise your group more effectively. Email us here.

Letter-writing campaign

Tips for letter writers

Based on advice from Gael Barrett, Grandmother for Refugees (Kooyong) who has repeated success in having her letters published in The Age and The Saturday Paper, we offer this guide: