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 Guelph who make our community 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, GuelphToday created a campaign to raise much-needed funds for Women in Crisis.
The campaign was simple. We secured care packages for Women in Crisis, donated by Canadian Tire (Stone Rd. location) and asked our readers to purchase the care packages for the shelter at $25 apiece through our online pop-up store, with all money donated and the care packages to be donated to the shelter.
GuelphToday then matched the $25 care package 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.
Aido Climate Solutions, ArtMed, Auto Clinic, Cheryl Stelzer Law, East Side Mario’s, Grant's Auto Care, Home Group Realty, IG Wealth, Jesse’s On The Green, JL’s Home Hardware Building Centre, Nick Fitzgibbon - Let's Talk Real Estate, Peter A. McSherry Law Office, Rammik Construction and Wise Crescent Inc. all answered the call.
With their support and yours, we sold out of care packages in just nine hours!
For each care package purchased in our pop-up store, every dollar was matched 15 times with all proceeds going directly to Women in Crisis.
In Guelph, the generosity of our readers and advertisers was translated into a donation of $6,375 for the shelter, plus the care packages!
Thank you for helping us to strengthen our community and empower local women in need here in Guelph.