A woman lucky enough to find the sanctuary of a women’s shelter after fleeing an abusive relationship can be like someone fleeing a fire.
They usually show up empty handed.
“They arrive with the clothes they are standing in,” Chilliwack Fraser Rotary Club member Lynne Goodwin said this week. “They leave with nothing, they have no lipstick no nail polish, nothing.”
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At transition houses in the Chilliwack area such as Ann Davis and Wilma’s, the women are provided with a bed and the necessities, but if they have no money, anything beyond that is a stretch.
photoSo over this holiday season, members of this Rotary Club hatched an idea: gift bags to bring a little dose of comfort at what can be a difficult and emotional time of the year.
(More photos below)
The club put out the word and were overwhelmed with donations. Between the club itself and members, $500 was donated. A further $150 came in from other sources, and Safeway and Superstore gave $25 gift cards.
Then each gift bag contains aesthetic products from Soul2Sole, beauty items from Champagne and Lace, lip balm from Sardis Health Foods and much, much more. (For a full list of gifts and who donated see this story online at www.theprogress.com.)
The 20-or-so women between the two shelters, and their kids, were also given 50 game tickets and 50 hot dog and pop vouchers from the Chilliwack Chiefs, as well as cookies and party platters for their common rooms.
“This has gone way past what we ever thought it would be,” club member Linda Rook said. “It’s amazing the among of goods we’ve been able to provide.”
The gift bag idea is a first for the Rotary Club, and represents putting the clubs ideals into action, Rook added.
Full list of donors:
Cash Donors:
Chilliwack Fraser Rotary Club – $200
Members of the Chilliwack Fraser Rotary Club – $300
Gwynne Vaughan Park Society – $100
Lynn Swanson – $50
Safeway- $25
Superstore – $25
Gift Bag Goodies (each bag contains):
$30 product gift bag – Soul2Sole
Choosing to Smile book – Glenda Standeven
$10 gift card – Tim Hortons
Free consultation certificate – Sheila Smelt & Associates
$5 gift card – McDonalds
Coffee mug – CIBC Chilliwack Banking Centre
Mary Kay products – Kathy Funk and Maureen Covey
Various beauty items – Champagne & Lace
Lip balm – Sardis Health Foods
Eyeglass cleaning cloth – FYI Doctors
Chocolates – Trudy McAuley
Gift bags – Linda Rook
Coffee – Starbucks Salish Plaza
Printing – ACE Signs
Pen – John Martin MLA
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