The Women and Children’s Shelter of Barrie extends a huge thank you to Blooms of Hope
Pie Media Group is proud to be a partner and sponsor of Blooms of Hope.
Dear Blooms of Hope:
On behalf of the Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie, we wanted to send you a personal thank you for your support and partnership during the COVID 19 Pandemic. These have been very challenging times and our Women’s Shelter has experienced a greater need for our services unlike anything before.
Due to Covid 19, we were unable to generate the same fundraising dollars that help us pay our daily expenses. As you can imagine, operating our 10,000 SF building is very costly. The cost to purchase food, diapers, toys, cleaning supplies, heat, hydro and water for 35 women and children is extremely costly. In addition, while we receive about 50% of our funding through the Provincial government, we are left to fundraise for the remaining costs. For our agency, that equates to over $350,000 per year. Amidst COVID 19, that fundraising target was virtually impossible.
During COVID 19, we were faced with the challenge to maintain physical distancing while housing a large group of women and children. In order to create a safe living environment in a shared space facility, we were forced to move several women and their children into other accommodations throughout the City of Barrie. We accessed hotels, vacant housing units and other supports, in order to create the physical distancing we needed. It was a difficult and challenging task, but with your help, we were able to meet that challenge. With your donation, we were able to finance those accommodations as well as provide all meals, hygiene supplies, transportation, cleaning and medical supplies for those families. You helped us in a very difficult time of need!
Our shelter continues to work through the aftermath of COVID 19 as we experience an increase in calls to our crisis line and an increased intensity to the severity of abuse that women are living in. While we know this is not new, COVID 19 added an extra pressure onto an already exhausted problem. We are truly thankful that you recognized the issue facing so many women and children right here in our own community. Violence against women is on every street, in every neighbourhood and impacts all of us. Thank you for rallying your support behind our agency and making a positive change in the life of an abused woman and her children. With your help, you have changed the future outcomes for abused women and provided a safe net for children who have witnessed and experienced violence in their homes. You have made a difference.
Attached is a picture of some of our employees that wanted to show you our thanks on behalf of our agency and the families we support. Our hearts are big as we say thank you!
Sincerely,
Teresa MacLennan
Executive Director
Women & Children’s Shelter Barrie
