Raise hope for women in Canada who have experienced violence

Canadian Women's Foundation launches its annual campaign to end violence against women with support from WINNERS, HomeSense, Rogers Media and Procter & Gamble

TORONTO, April 14, 2014 /CNW/ - The Canadian Women's Foundation has launched its 10^th Annual Campaign to End Violence Against Women. Conducted in partnership with WINNERS, HomeSense and Rogers Media, the initiative raises funds to support more than 445 shelters for abused women and their children, as well as community violence prevention programs that help break the cycle of violence. The campaign runs the month leading up to Mother's Day, from April 12 until May 11.

"With 50% of women in Canada experiencing physical or sexual abuse, violence against women is a critical issue. Through this annual campaign, we want to raise hope for women who have experienced abuse as well as build awareness about the issue of violence against women in Canada," says Mina Mawani, President and CEO, Canadian Women's Foundation. "Supporting and investing in emergency shelters and violence prevention programs helps provide women who have experienced abuse access to a safe place and opportunities to learn the skills they need to rebuild their lives and live free from violence."

With two-thirds of Canadians knowing a woman who has experienced abuse, violence against women remains a serious issue across the country^†. Canadians can help by visiting their local WINNERS or HomeSense and purchasing one of the Shop for Hope products designed exclusively in support of the campaign.  Net proceeds from the Shop for Hope collection, including t-shirts, pillows, jewellery boxes and mugs will help raise hope for women and children in local communities across Canada. Please find the full list of items and prices below.

Canadians can also purchase Hope decals for $2, $5 or $10 with all proceeds going directly to the Canadian Women's Foundation's 10^th annual campaign to end violence against women.

"WINNERS and HomeSense are committed to helping the Canadian Women's Foundation raise hope and end violence against women. Together, along with other campaign partners, we are proud to have collectively raised more than $12 million over the past nine years to support women who have experienced abuse," said Shannon Johnson, WINNERS HomeSense spokesperson. "Our carefully created beautiful Shop for Hope products inspire people to join this cause and help women in Canada who have experienced violence to rebuild their lives."

Procter & Gamble, a new partner of the campaign, will be matching all donations, up to $200,000, made online, offline and through text-to-donate during the campaign from April 12 until May 11. Donations can be made online at www.canadianwomen.org or by texting GIVEHOPE to 30333, where a $10 donation will be applied to your cell phone account.

The Canadian Women's Foundation's 10^th annual campaign to end violence against women kicked off April 12, 2014 with Move for Hope, a national pledge-based, one-hour workout event in seven cities across Canada: Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. GoodLife Fitness instructors led more than 1790 participants in the Move for Hope events, sponsored by Winners, HomeSense, Rogers Media, Scotiabank and AVON, and raised over $390,000 for women's shelters and community violence prevention programs.

To make an online donation or to find out more about the annual campaign to end violence against women, please visit www.canadianwomen.org

About Canadian Women's Foundation

The Canadian Women's Foundation is Canada's public foundation for women and girls. We empower women and girls in Canada to move out of violence, out of poverty and into confidence. Since 1991, we've raised money and invested in over 1,300 community programs across Canada, and are now one of the ten largest women's foundations in the world. We take a positive approach to address root causes of the most critical issues facing women and girls. We study and share the best ways to create long-term change and bring community organizations together for training and to learn from each other. We carefully select and fund the programs with the strongest outcomes and regularly evaluate their work. We have a special focus on building a community of women helping other women. Helping women creates safer families and communities, and a more prosperous society for all of us. We invest in the strength of women and the dreams of girls.

For more information, visit www.canadianwomen.org or tweet #raisehope to @cdnwomenfdn.

Editors Note: When referring to the Canadian Women's Foundation, please use the full name. Please do not abbreviate or use acronyms. 

PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2014/04/14/20140414_C9648_DOC_EN_39188.pdf

SOURCE: Canadian Women's Foundation

For more information including interviews with Canadian Women's Foundation representatives, Shop for Hope and Move for Hope high resolution images, violence against women information and statistics as well as violence prevention programs funded by and tips from the Canadian Women's Foundation, please contact:

Molly Chudnovsky
Edelman
[email protected]
416-849-8914