Shop to 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 and Rogers Media

TORONTO, April 15, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Women's Foundation has launched its 9^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 13 until May 12.

"Violence can destroy women's self-confidence, making it difficult for them to believe that there is a way out. 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 Beverley Wybrow, President and CEO, Canadian Women's Foundation. "Supporting and investing in shelters and violence prevention programs across Canada provides women access to safe places to go after escaping abuse 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 change this reality 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, baby onesies and chocolate bars, 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 9^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 $10 million over the past eight years to support women who have experienced abuse," said Shannon Johnson, Winners HomeSense spokesperson. "We carefully created beautiful Shop for Hope products to inspire people to join this cause and help women in Canada who have experienced violence to rebuild their lives."

When women leave an abusive relationship they often leave with just the clothes they're wearing. HomeSense is inviting all Canadians to go online to the Winners Facebook or HomeSense Facebook pages May 10 through May 12 and symbolically choose essential items, such as pants, sweaters and towels that women would need to rebuild their lives after leaving a shelter. For every consumer interaction, Winners HomeSense will donate $50 Cdn, up to a maximum of $50,000 Cdn, to the Canadian Women's Foundation 9^th annual campaign to end violence against women.

The Canadian Women's Foundation's 9^th annual campaign to end violence against women kicked off April 13, 2013 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 approximately 750 participants in the Move for Hope events, sponsored by Winners, HomeSense, Rogers Media, Scotiabank and AVON, and raised nearly $400,000 for women's shelters and community violence prevention programs. The Canadian Women's Foundation 9^th annual campaign to end violence against women wraps up with Morning for Hope, a live, three-hour fundraising tele/radiothon on May 8 on City's Breakfast Television and Rogers radio stations in eight cities: Vancouver, Lethbridge, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Kingston and Halifax.

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

Methodology: Online survey among 1,504 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists, conducted on November 22 and November 23, 2012.  The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada.

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 1,200 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 power 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.

Image with caption: "Approximately 750 Canadians participated in the Canadian Women's Foundation Move for Hope events Saturday, April 13, 2013. The events raised nearly $400,000 Cdn for emergency women's shelters and community violence prevention programs. (CNW Group/Canadian Women's Foundation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130415_C4996_PHOTO_EN_25510.jpg

PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2013/04/15/20130415_C4996_DOC_EN_25498.pdf

SOURCE: Canadian Women's Foundation

For further 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:

Sara Beckford
Fleishman-Hillard
[e-mail]
416-645-8184 (O); 416-357-8540 (M)