On International Women’s Day, people around the world celebrate the political, cultural and socio-economic achievements of women near and far.
And we have many extraordinary women to honour right here in our community who make Orillia a better place.
While it is important to mark this day with celebration, it is also a time to reflect on the reality of gender inequality in our world.
Women, girls and non-binary people are at the highest risk of experiencing domestic abuse, homelessness, poverty and gender-based violence.
In an effort to promote gender equality and assist women facing adversity in our community, we created a campaign to raise much-needed funds for the shelter.
The campaign was simple. We secured gift cards for Green Haven Shelter for Women, donated by Zehrs Orillia, and asked our readers to purchase the gift cards for the shelter at $25 apiece through our online pop-up store, with all money donated and the gift cards to be donated to the shelter.
We then matched the $25 gift card purchase price to double the donation.
But that’s not all.
We were able to leverage the power of our community to make the donations even bigger by asking our local business partners to match our donation.
Jim Wilson Chevrolet Buick GMC, Julie Cleaveley - Century 21 B.J Roth Realty, Karen O’Coin - BMO Nesbitt Burns, Parklane Landscapes and the Rotary Club of Orillia all answered the call.
With their support and yours, we were able to sell all the gift cards in just one day!
For each gift card purchased in our pop-up store, every dollar was matched four times with all proceeds going directly to the shelter.
In Orillia, the generosity of our readers and advertisers was translated into a donation of $2,625 for the shelter, plus the gift cards!
Thank you for helping us to strengthen our community and empower local women in need here in Orillia.
