Ripple of Kindness Orillia (ROK) has raised nearly $24,000 for North Simcoe Victim Services (NSVS) through its fall fundraising campaign.
Amber McGarvey-Moreland, who co-directs the ROK Orillia Chapter with Ashley Lehmann, says NSVS is more than worthy of receiving the donation that was raised by chapter members.
"It's a vital service that can provide crisis support to community members through volunteerism," she said. "Knowing that our support will help those individuals in a devastating time of need is meaningful and powerful."
Over the past five years, ROK has put over $200,000 back into community organizations such as NSVS.
"When we come together as a collective group of women to support members of the community we see the impact right away," McGarvey-Moreland said. "It's a beautiful expression of kindness and caring for one another."
While around 20 not-for-profit organizations and charities were nominated for the donation back in August, NSVS development director, Lynn Thomas, says she's thankful ROK chose the crisis response group.
"It's an incredible way for a group of women to come together to support a need in the community," she said. "Our heart for the community is for people who are dealing with tragic circumstances and that really resonated with ROK members."
Thomas says the "generous" donation will go a long way for NSVS, which is not fully funded by the ministry or OPP despite popular belief.
"Our funding comes for our staffing only," she said. "Recently we've had the funding for our emergency funding removed because it used to come from the County of Simcoe."
Thomas says the ROK funds will help connect victims dealing with tragedy with potentially life-saving resources.
"This will help people displaced from their homes," she explained. "If somebody is dealing with intimate partner violence and they need to get out of an unsafe situation, we would put them up in a hotel which costs our organization in funds."
NSVS doesn't charge victims to access their resources; rather, they lean on community donations such as the one made by ROK.
The funding will also help NSVS provide vulnerable community members in need with personal alarms and other security devices. Thomas says the most vulnerable people in our community could be those you would least expect.
"It could be you or me," she said. "It could be our neighbour or a work colleague. Anything can happen to anyone at any time."
Thomas thanks ROK for their kindness and says she believes in their charity service.
"They are amazing members of the community that just want to do something kind," she said. "It's great and the chapter here in Orillia is continually growing."
For more information about NSVS, click here. For more information about ROK, click here.
For those looking to become a chapter member, you can reach McGarvey-Moreland or Lehmann at [email protected].
