Spring Clean for a Good Cause: 10th Annual National Garage Sale for Shelter Returns on May 12

#GarageSale4Shelter @RLPShelterFdn @Royal_LePage

Largest charity garage sale in Canada supports women's shelters and programs to end domestic violence

TORONTO, April 26, 2018 /CNW/ - On Saturday, May 12, close to seventy Royal LePage offices and other community locations across Canada will be transformed into a destination for bargain hunters with the return of the National Garage Sale for Shelter in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation – an organization committed to supporting women's shelters and ending domestic violence in Canada.

Now in its tenth year, this Mother's Day weekend event brings community members together with Royal LePage REALTORS^® to raise funds and awareness to help break the cycle of domestic violence.

"As Canada's Real Estate Company, Royal LePage is proud to help Canadians create safer homes and build healthier relationships", said Phil Soper, Royal LePage's CEO. "I salute the women and men of Royal LePage for their ongoing commitment to our foundation and for the volunteer time they dedicate to the National Garage Sale for Shelter."

Since 2009, the National Garage Sale for Shelter has raised close to $3 million in support of women's shelters across the country. The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation also funds educational programs aimed at helping teenagers develop healthy relationships which should reduce the incidence of domestic violence in future.

"The most dangerous time for an abused woman is when she attempts to leave the relationship", said Shanan Spencer-Brown, Executive Director of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. "That's why women's shelters are so critical. On any given day in Canada, more than 6,300 women and children sleep in shelters because it isn't safe at home. All the proceeds from the National Garage Sale for Shelter provide these women and children with the chance to heal from the trauma of abuse and to lead safer, happier and more hopeful lives."

Royal LePage covers the foundation's administrative costs and sponsors underwrite event expenses, so 100 percent of the proceeds go to local women's shelters that provide a lifeline to thousands of women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Community members are encouraged to participate and help de-clutter for the cause. Donate gently used items to your local participating Royal LePage office and stop by the National Garage Sale for Shelter in your neighbourhood on Saturday, May 12 to find some great treasures and help support a worthy cause.

Event Details:

• What: 10^th Annual National Garage Sale for Shelter
• When: Saturday, May 12, 2018
• Where: Across Canada! Click here to find your closest National Garage Sale for Shelter location
• Why: To support the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, Canada's largest foundation dedicated exclusively to funding women's shelters and violence prevention programs

Can't attend but still want to make a donation? Click here to make an online donation.

Marking its 20^th anniversary this year, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation supports 200 women's shelters and other domestic violence support programs across the country, helping more than 50,000 women and children every year. It's also committed to funding violence prevention and education programs through its partnership with the Canadian Women's Foundation and Women's Shelters Canada. Since its inception, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation has raised more than $27 million with the support of Royal LePage agents, brokers and staff, along with members of the communities in which they live and work.

The National Garage Sale for Shelter is made possible with the support of its national sponsors: TD Canada Trust, Mobile Mortgage Specialists (National Presenting Sponsor), Atlas Van Lines Canada (In-kind Moving and Transportation Sponsor), Genworth Canada (Supporting Sponsor) and Kaiser Lachance Communications (Media Relations Sponsor).

For more information on the National Garage Sale for Shelter, how you can participate and to find a Garage Sale location in your community, please visit garagesaleforshelter.ca.

About Royal LePage Shelter Foundation

The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation is Canada's largest public foundation dedicated exclusively to funding women's shelters and ending violence against women and children. Through agent commission donations and the fundraising activities of the Royal LePage network, the foundation has raised more than $27 million to help provide a safe haven and new beginnings for more than 50,000 women and children every year. To break the cycle of violence, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation also supports violence prevention and education programs. All funds raised by Royal LePage offices remain in their local community and because Royal LePage covers all administrative costs, 100 percent of all money and effort goes toward this important cause. For more information visit: royallepage.ca/shelter

About Royal LePage

Serving Canadians since 1913, Royal LePage is the country's leading provider of services to real estate brokerages, with a network of close to 18,000 real estate professionals in more than 600 locations nationwide. Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to supporting shelters for women and their children and educational programs aimed at ending domestic violence. Royal LePage is a Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc. company, a TSX-listed corporation trading under the symbolTSX:BRE. For more information visit: royallepage.ca

SOURCE Royal LePage Shelter Foundation

For more information, please contact: Erin Griffin, Kaiser Lachance Communications, O: 647-725-2520 x 221, C: 647-641-3020, [email protected]; Shanan Spencer-Brown, Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, O: 416-510-5750, C: 647-300-9208, [email protected]