Spring Clean for a Good Cause: 8th Annual Royal LePage National Garage Sale for Shelter Returns on May 7

#GarageSale4Shelter @RLPShelterFdn @Royal_LePage

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

TORONTO, April 27, 2016 /CNW/ - On Saturday, May 7, more than eighty-five 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 eighth 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 family violence. Last year's event raised more than $250,000 to help abused women and their children.

"More than just our tagline, 'Helping you is what we do™' represents our collective commitment to giving back to the communities in which we live and work," said Phil Soper, Royal LePage's CEO. "I am extremely proud of the women and men of Royal LePage for their ongoing financial 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 more than $2.25 million in support of women's shelters across the country and to help fund violence prevention initiatives. The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation also funds educational programs aimed at helping teenagers develop healthy relationships and avoid violence.

"Royal LePage Realtors^® understand that a house is only truly a home when the families who live there feel safe and loved", said Shanan Spencer-Brown, Executive Director of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. "However, on any given day in Canada, more than 6,300 women and children stay at a shelter to escape domestic violence. All the proceeds from the National Garage Sale for Shelter provide abused women and their children with safety, hope and the chance to rebuild their lives.

All administrative expenses of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation are underwritten by Royal LePage and event sponsors cover all other costs, so 100 per cent of the funds raised go to local women's shelters that provide a lifeline to thousands of women and children escaping family 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 7 to find some great treasures and help support a worthy cause.

Event Details:

• What: 8^th Annual National Garage Sale for Shelter
• When: Saturday, May 7, 2016
• 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 public foundation dedicated exclusively to funding women's shelters and violence prevention and education programs

View the National Garage Sale for Shelter video here.

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

Established in 1998, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation supports 200 women's shelters and other domestic violence support programs across the country, helping more than 30,000 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 the Canadian Network of Women's Shelters & Transition Houses. Since its inception, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation has raised more than $22 million with the help and 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 generous 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 (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 royallepage.ca/shelter.

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 $22 million to help provide a safe haven and new beginnings for more than 30,000 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 pays all administrative costs, 100 per cent 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 over 16,000 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 women's and children's shelters 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

Diane Shouldice, Kaiser Lachance Communications, O: 647-725-2520 x 224, [email protected]; Shanan Spencer-Brown, Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, O: 416-510-5750, C: 647-300-9208, [email protected]