Shoppers donates $300,000 to Women's Shelters Canada
Who: Shoppers Drug Mart
What: The retailer is donating $300,000 to Women’s Shelters Canada as part of its Love You program.
Shoppers is also bringing back its fall fundraising campaign, Giving Shelter, for the third consecutive year. The program runs September 10 to October 14 and funds donated by customers go directly to women’s shelters in their community.
Customers can donate by purchasing and personalizing the Love You by Shoppers Drug Mart icons (a "leaf" for $2, a "butterfly" for $5, an "apple" for $10 or a "bird" for $50), which are displayed on the campaign tree in all participating stores.
Donations can also be made online at shoppersdrugmart.ca/givingshelter.
"Advancing women's health equity is an incredibly important issue, and something we are dedicated to supporting and raising awareness around," said Paulette Minard, director, community investment, Shoppers Drug Mart, in a statement. "We know that women are more susceptible to gender-based violence and while the grant program is not a solution to the complex issue of domestic violence, it is an important first step in supporting women and families across Canada, and our help is needed now more than ever."
Women's Shelters Canada provides support to more than 600 violence against women shelters and transition houses across the country. The grants program will allow these shelters and transition houses to apply for funds that can be used for a variety of needs including operational costs, programming and renovations that can increase the capacity of homes.
"Throughout the pandemic, we have seen a significant increase in needs from women's shelters and other crisis-related services across the country," Lise Martin, executive director, Women's Shelters Canada, said in a release. "This grant program will help address these needs, notably capital investments, in addition to providing support for a sector that remains underfunded, with significant fundraising challenges still in existence due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
