St. Thomas and Elgin County reached heroic heights this past year by raising $1,100,000 toward building a new shelter for Violence Against Women Services Elgin County --- and they’re at it again as this year’s 4th annual “Walk A Mile in Her Shoes” event kicks off at Pinafore Park on September 28th. Already the participant list is growing as men sign up to wear women’s shoes and walk a mile to publicly commit and raise awareness and funds toward ending violence in the St. Thomas/ Elgin area.
I was privileged to attend the June 24th Celebration of Building Hope. Saving Lives. Smiles were on the faces of the capacity gathering at CASO Station in St. Thomas where Liz Brown, executive director and board members of Violence Against Women Services thanked the city and county for being part of the 1,000 conversations and many fund raising efforts that resulted in the over one million dollar bonanza.
During the celebration, we heard repeated gratitude and joy for how a small city and surrounding county working together could create dreams and help them to become a reality by many enthusiastic people working together for a lofty goal.
Although St. Thomas/Elgin has raised their share of the shelter’s building costs, they expectantly await the two million in provincial contributions to make the building a reality. However, the project is well on its way.
It is amazing to see how a few motivated individuals inspired by a dream can mobilize an entire community to noble acts of generosity and compassion. A comment on the agency’s website aptly sums up the situation: “It is wonderful to hear that the County of Elgin fully supports safety for women and children. Despite this community’s many economic challenges, the people of Elgin/St. Thomas are truly generous.” Blessings and kudos to all those involved in a most worthy venture.
Jean Moylan, CSJ