Peterborough Kinsmen Raise $20,000 For YWCA Crossroads Emergency Shelter For Gender-Based Violence

The Kinsmen Club of Peterborough donated $20,000 in support of Safe Nights at YWCA Crossroads Shelter this month announced on Thursday.

Barry Craft, Kinsmen Club of Peterborough president (left) and Kim Dolan, YWCA Peterborough Haliburton Executive Director (right).

The emergency shelter is for women and children experiencing gender-based violence.

"The Kinsmen Club of Peterborough is very fortunate to be in a position to provide financial assistance to the YWCA Crossroads Safe Nights program,” said Barry Craft, Kinsmen Club of Peterborough president, “This donation is a result of the tremendous community support we have experienced with the Kinsmen Super TV Bingo recently.”

YWCA Crossroads Shelter has remained open throughout the pandemic.

The need for violence against women services has risen by approximately 30 per cent since the onset of the COVID-19 according to the YWCA.

“This wonderful demonstration of support will provide just over 300 Safe Nights for women and children in our community who have no safe place to turn,” said Kim Dolan, YWCA Peterborough Haliburton Executive Director. “We’re immensely grateful for the Kinsmen’s support and continued dedication to our local community.”

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YWCA Announces the Hazel Education Bursary Call for Applications Opens on International Women’s Day

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton Education Awards Committee has opened the applications for the 2022 Hazel Education Bursary, on Tuesday, International Women’s Day.

Photo courtesy of YWCA Peterborough Halliburton.

YWCA Hazel Education Bursary is intended to help women who have experienced gender-based violence reach their goals through education or training.

The Hazel Education Bursary was created by friends the friends and family of Hazel, a local woman who had a vision of helping women pursue their dreams and overcome barriers related to their experiences of violence and abuse.

“While battling the bout of cancer, she took us — my brother, sister, and I, from a life of domination and violence. We were faced with nothing, but what we were leaving behind posed such a threat that ‘nothing’ was better than how we had lived,” Hazel’s daughter noted on the YWCA website. “Alongside Mum, many have faced overwhelming battles and carried on. Rebuilding our lives through such hurdles as court, lawyers, house seeking, and remaining safe, she found ways to deal with her own pain on the side and showed us how to live this new life. These experiences she used later to give a chance to friends, colleagues and acquaintances.”

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton Board of Directors, through the Education Awards Committee, and with the generosity of donors in our community, offers bursaries of $1,500 or $2,500 to women who: 

• have experienced barriers related to the impact of violence and abuse; 

• have a dream to strengthen their economic security;

• are a resident of Peterborough or Haliburton County;

• seek to further their formal or informal education, or develop skills.

Women from rural areas will be given special consideration for this award, as per Hazel’s request.

Application must be submitted by email to Yvonne Porter by May 8.

two references (non-family members preferred) must submit a completed 2022 Reference Form by email to Yvonne Porter by May 16.

Application forms can be found here.

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Annual YWCA Empty Bowls Event Raised $31,427

A grand total of $31,427 was raised in support of YWCA Nourish Food Programs at the 18 th annual YWCA Empty Bowls event held at The Venue on Feb. 26.

YWCA Empty Bowls fundraiser 2021. Photo courtesy of YWCA.

Ticket holders at this year’s event received a handcrafted ceramic or wooden bowl and a restaurant coupon card, featuring discounts from 12 participating local restaurants.

“Our hearts are so full,” said YWCA Executive Director Kim Dolan. “When I pause to think about all the people and all the time that goes into making this event possible year after year, I’m overwhelmed by the good in our community. Thank you to everyone who carved, created, sponsored, donated, attended, or lent a hand in order to help folks experiencing food insecurity. Your support of Nourish means so much to the hundreds of people in our community who access our healthy food workshops, advocacy training, community gardens, and food boxes every month.”

Those interested in learning more about the event, or the YWCA’s upcoming Virtual Challenge taking place this May in celebration of Mother’s Day, are encouraged to contact Ria Nicholson at 705-743-3526 x113 or rnicholson@ywcapeterborough.org.

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YWCA Peterborough Haliburton Is Seeking Volunteers To Join Board Of Directors

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton is seeking volunteers to join the Board of Directors and board committees.

Stock photo.

“We are looking for volunteers who are passionate about women’s issues and have the desire to be involved with an organization that provides life-saving emergency shelter and support programs, tools and resources that help women and children thrive,” said Wendy Hicks, YWCA Peterborough Haliburton Board President. “The YWCA plays a vital role in our community and its sustainability depends on women who will make impactful decisions in support of our mission: to support the right of all women and their families to live free from violence, poverty and oppression as they build their desired futures.”

Those interested in volunteering should have between 10 – 12 hours a month to contribute and submit information through the online application by April 1.

“We value varied skills and experiences, and we are particularly interested in the areas of finance, human resources, strategic planning and governance",” said Kelly Zatorski, Chair of the Nominating Committee. As an organization, we have always been committed to ensuring a diverse perspective, one that is a reflection of the communities we serve.”

Candidates who meet this year's requirements will be invited to submit their resumes, followed by 30-minute virtual interviews scheduled toward the end of April. New appointments will be made at the YWCA’s annual meeting in June 2022.

Questions can be directed to ywcaph.boardrecruitment@gmail.com.

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YWCA To Host Empty Bowl Fundraise At The Venue

Tickets are now on sale for the YWCA Empty Bowl fundraiser, which will be hosted at The Venue on Feb. 26.

Photo courtesy of The YWCA.

YWCA EMpty Bowls ticket holders will attand The Venue for a 30 minute slot. During that time they will be able to browse and select a hand-crafted bowl, donated by local artisans of the Kawartha Potters Guild and Kawartha Woodturners Guild.

Each $50 ticket also includes a local restaurant coupon card featuring discounts from various partnering restaurants and businesses, redeemable for 6 months. All proceeds from the event directly support YWCA Nourish food programs throughout Peterborough City and County.

“We’re extremely grateful for the continued support of our community and our sponsors, including Kawartha Cardiology Clinic, Cornerstone Family Dentistry and The Venue, who truly understand that food insecurity is a critical health issue and a core barrier for women experiencing gender-based violence,” said YWCA Executive Director, Kim Dolan.

“In Peterborough, 1-in-7 households are experiencing food-insecurity,” said YWCA’s Joëlle Favreau, Manager of Nourish. “Every ticket for YWCA Empty Bowls helps individuals and families most at risk of experiencing food insecurity put fresh, local, affordable food on their tables, while also supporting the systemic changes required to end food insecurity and poverty.”

A limited number of tickets are available for this year’s event. Peterborough Public Health COVID-19 protocols will be in place for a safe experience. For more information, please visit www.ywcapeterborough.org or contact Ria Nicholson at 705-743-3526 x113.

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The David And Patricia Morton Family Foundation Gives $50,000 In Support of YWCA HERS

A $50,000 donation from The Morton Family Foundation is helping to ensure that women and children experiencing gender-based violence continue to have a SafeSpace to call home in Haliburton County.

Photo courtesy of YWCA Peterborough.

“We are deeply moved by Patricia and David’s positive impact in the Haliburton County community,” said Kim Dolan, Executive Director of YWCA Peterborough Haliburton. “The Morton’s compassion for others is helping to ensure that women and children have ongoing access to our Emergency SafeSpace, nutritious food, basic necessities, and 24 hour support when home is the most dangerous place to be.”

YWCA HERS provides safe and supportive temporary accommodations for women, with and without children, who are fleeing abuse in Haliburton County. This innovative service, designed to be available on an as-needed basis in order to help reduce costs, offers space for up-to two families at a time so that women can move away from the abusive situation in their home, without leaving their support systems, jobs and schools, families and friends behind.

For safety reasons, the YWCA ensures 24 hour staffing during evenings, nights and weekends when the units are occupied.

The COVID-19 crisis has created a toxic combination of increased stress, isolation and job losses that is leading to a dramatic rise in violence. This is especially true for rural women, whose physical distance from police services and lack of resources to assist in accessing safety and support greatly increases their vulnerability to gender-based violence.

HERS has been fully occupied since January 2021 and rural women in Haliburton County have reported abuse that is far more serious and complex throughout the pandemic. Like women’s organizations across the province, the YWCA is facing heightened demand and increasing costs.

“We are so happy to give this donation to such a worthy cause!” said Patricia Morton on behalf of The Morton Family Foundation. “We have been greatly inspired by the expertise and tremendous dedication which the YW’s Haliburton staff bring to their work, both in providing women with safety and security to plan how to build better lives for themselves and their children, and in providing expert professional support services to assist their healing from trauma.”

“As a man I am just appalled and disgusted by violence against women and children. I am grateful at least to have this opportunity to extend a helping hand to the brave women who, with the wonderful support of our YWCA, are striving hard to empower themselves,” said David Morton.

Members of the community who wish to donate or find ways of supporting YWCA services in Haliburton County are encouraged to visit www.ywcahaliburton.org or contact Ria Nicholson directly at 705-743-3526 x113 or rnicholson@ywcapeterborough.org.

Donations made before Dec. 31 will be doubled during the YWCA’s holiday season matching gift campaign.

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Purple Flag Raised at City Hall to Acknowledge Gender Based Violence in Canada

The YWCA along with Mayor Diane Therrien raised a purple flag at City Hall on Thursday to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the first of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, with the Wrapped in Courage campaign.

Representatives from the YWCA and City Hall hold the purple flag wrapped in courage. Those wanting to show support are encouraged to wear a Purple Scarf and use the hashtag #WrappedInCourage on social media.

This is the ninth year the Wrapped in Courage campaign is encouraging Violence Against Women (VAW) shelters to remind their communities that now more than ever violence continues to be the greatest gender inequality rights issue for women and girls.

The Wrapped in Courage Campaign was started by women’s shelters in Ontario to celebrate the strength of women who experience gender-based violence, the 16 days will go through Dec. 6, the anniversary of the massacre at Universite du Montreal's Ecole polytechnique, during which 14 women were killed in an act of femicide.

“We’ve been seeing so many women especially in positions of leadership being slagged or subjected to gaslighting from many people - being called out for being a woman with a strong voice,” said Kim Dolan, executive director, YWCA Peterborough Halliburton. “That’s part of the undercurrent that perpetuates more dramatic forms of violence against women that also leads to women’s deaths.“

On Thursday the YWCA received the 2020/21 Intimate Femicide Report from the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses and found that while last year there were a reported 39 women murdered, this year that number exceeded 50.

“Women are continuing to be murdered, we’re continuing to be victimized by male violence, so wrapped in courage is our opportunity to stand up and start conversations with one another about the violence that we experience in our lives now or the violence that we’ve experienced in the past - it effects all of us,” she said.

Mayor Diane Therrien read a Proclamation during the flag raising signaling a commitment to ending gender-based violence in the community, and ensuring survivors that they are not alone.

“We’re very grateful to the YWCA and all the community partners that do work on this front, we know that it’s something that’s not just today or the next couple weeks, it’s every day,” said Therrien. “It’s not just us it’s the men too, we need to raise awareness and let women out there know that they’re not alone and there is help out there available.”

Therrien noted that while it’s important for men to lead by example, it is just as important to have women in leadership roles.

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton provides safe shelter, resources and support to help women safely escape violent situations, build upon their existing strength, and move forward in their lives. As a member of YWCA Canada, they are part of a global movement dedicated to ending gender-based violence in all its forms.

YWCA Crossroads Shelter, Haliburton Emergency Rural SafeSpace (HERS), and 24 Hour Support & Crisis Line are essential services and remain open at all times. Confidential support, resources, safety planning and information continues to be available to women, as well as the people who love and support them: Call 1-800-461-7656 Text 705-991-0110.

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YWCA Raising the Flag to End Gender-Based Violence Across Ontario

UPDATE (2:40 p.m., Nov. 19, 2021): The flag-raising event has been changed from 1:00 p.m. to noon.

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton is going to new heights for Women Abuse Prevention Month in a flag-raising ceremony at City Hall announced on Thursday.

Photo Courtesy of YWCA Peterborough Haliburton.

The ceremony will occur at City Hall on Thursday at noon The event is meant to help raise awareness and to end gender-based violence according to the YWCA.

“International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women” and the first day of the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a Wrapped in Courage” flag will be raised in our community at Peterborough City Hall and a Proclamation will be declared by Mayor Diane Therrien as stated in the press release.

This Proclamation and flag-raising signal a commitment to ending gender-based violence in our community and to ensuring survivors know they are not alone. 

For the ninth year, the “Wrapped in Courage” campaign is mobilizing Violence Against Women (VAW) shelters across Ontario since violence continues to be the greatest gender inequality rights issue for women and girls according to the press release.

The YWCA is requesting that purple scarves be worn to show support for gender-based violence survivors who suffered from their homes, communities and workplaces. The purple scarf is a symbol of the courage it takes to seek support and safety from violence.

Suggested ways to address gender-based violence in a meaningful way by the YWCA:

• Talking with those close to you about how shelters in your communities play an essential role for survivor safety through their programs and services and continue to have services available throughout the pandemic.

• Contact your municipal, provincial and federal politicians to let them know you want them to take action to end gender-based violence through commitments and planning at all levels of government. 

• Visiting ywcapeterborough.org or calling 705-743-3526 to learn more about how you can support local services for women experiencing gender-based violence and their children.

• Posting and sharing photos and videos of Wrapped in Courage flags across Ontario.

• Wearing or displaying a Purple Scarf in Support of Survivors of Gender-Based Violence and post with the hashtag #WrappedinCourage to your social media accounts.

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YWCA's Virtual Challenge Raises Over $28,000 For Shelter and Support Services For Women Experiencing Gender-Based Violence

The YWCA has raised $28,641 for their shelter and support services from their second annual Virtual Challenge that started from May 3 - 31 announced Thursday.

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton receives only partial government funding and relies on annual fundraising initiatives to cover basic operating costs. Photo Courtesy of YWCA Peterborough.

The online fundraiser was an initiative in support of local YWCA resources for women experiencing gender-based violence.

“The Virtual Challenge provides a unique opportunity to use whatever we have to make a positive difference,” said Ria Nicholson of the YWCA. “Whether that’s the courage to raise the issue of gender-based violence with our friends and family or the means to support the YWCA’s services by making a donation - every bit helps!”

Participants registered an activity online to accomplish throughout May and challenged others to match their efforts.

Activities were flexible, encouraging activities such as cooking, yoga or anything you could think of. The challenge was open to all ages to participate safely in their own way and schedule.

This year, participants who raised more than $250 were entered in a draw to win 1 of 3 prizes. This year’s winners are: 

• 1st Prize – Recliner (donated by Bennett’s Furniture and Mattresses) – Bethany LeBlonc 

• 2nd Prize – Home Care Package (donated by Swish Maintenance Ltd & Merrett Home Hardware Building Centre) – Alder Howe 

• 3rd Prize – Foodie Package (donated by Ashburnham Ale House, Chuck’s Roadhouse Bar & Grill, Primal Cuts, The Chocolate Rabbit & Sobeys Towerhill) – Patti Clancy, Kawartha Home & Health Care Services

“We hope that in seeing this compassionate community response, local women are reminded that they’re not alone – especially as COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease and opportunities to seek support become more available,” said Nicholson. “The YWCA is here, day and night, thanks to the support of our wonderful community.”

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Local Family-Owned Company AON Helps to Support Women and Children in Crisis

A recent $5,000 donation from AON Inc.—a major employer of women in Peterborough—is helping YWCA Peterborough Haliburton address the urgent needs of women and children trapped with abusive men throughout the pandemic.

“AON Inc. is pleased to provide support to the YWCA 2020 Crisis Campaign to help women and children in our community escape violence which has been elevated due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Sarah Joore, AON Inc. Chairperson Charitable Donations. “We understand the increased stress non-profit organizations in our community are facing and hope that our contribution will support the YWCA’s current initiatives to assist those with the greatest needs in our community in the months ahead.”

Photo courtesy YWCA

As the reality of COVID-19 landed in Ontario, reports were released from other countries indicating that demand for violence against women services had as much as tripled following self-isolation. 

YWCA staff anticipate a dramatic increase in the need for shelter and support services as women gain more opportunities to seek help during Stage 3 of the reopening plan—particularly once children return to their regular school routines. 

While funding from Provincial and Federal Governments has helped women’s shelters address a number of unexpected costs associated with COVID-19, annual government funding covers less than 65% of the organization’s operating costs. 

Photo courtesy YWCA

“It is overwhelming to imagine how we’ll meet 3 times the need in the absence of matching financial resources, especially in a context that continues to be uncertain as we move through the rest of this year,” says YWCA Director of Services, Mandy Hamu. “The generosity of supporters like AON Inc. is profoundly appreciated as we continue providing services for those who rely on us.”

HOW THE COMMUNITY CAN HELP FURTHER

Members of the community who wish to add their support for YWCA services like Crossroads Shelter, Transition and Court Support services for women, Nourish food programs and others, are encouraged to visit ywcapeterborough.org or contact the office at 705-743-3526. 

Anyone interested in learning more about corporate partnership opportunities is asked to contact Ria Nicholson directly at 705-743-3526 x128 or via email at rnicholson@ywcapeterborough.org.

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