For the second straight year, customers and staff at Orillia’s Shoppers Drug Mart stores have demonstrated their love for a local women’s shelter.
The 2021 LOVE YOU campaign recently wrapped up and the “highly successful” fundraiser brought in $9,101 in support of Orillia’s Green Haven Shelter for Women.
Prior to the pandemic, the LOVE YOU initiative , locally, raised money for women’s programming at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.
In 2020, the decision was made to support women’s shelters that are helping to protect women from domestic violence, due to the increases in violence against women as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some regions have reported a 20 to 30 per cent increase in rates of gender-based violence and domestic violence since the start of the pandemic, noted Green Haven officials.
The campaign is national in scope, yet locally based, with patients, customers and employees donating directly to women’s shelters in their community to ensure that resources and programming are available to meet the needs of women across the country.
“We’re thrilled with the success of the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart fall fundraising program to grow women’s health and would like to thank everyone who participated,” said Christina Chung, a pharmacist at the Front Street Shoppers Drug Mart.
“Each year, our customers and staff demonstrate their generosity and their commitment to supporting women in our community, and we couldn’t be more proud of everyone’s contributions,” said Chung.
“Green Haven plays a critical role in our area, and the proceeds from this year’s campaign will go a long way to helping them support women who are fleeing abuse," she said.
The LOVE YOU fundraising program to grow women’s health is an annual four-week campaign and is one of the leading partnership programs of the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart platform – the company’s commitment to improving the health of all Canadian women in body, mind, and spirit.
Since 2002, the fall fundraising program has raised more than $40 million for Canadian health charities through the purchase of paper icons in-store.
Over the past two years in Orillia, the campaign has raised $18,188.49 for Green Haven through the sale of leaves, butterflies and birds that are purchased through a donation to the program.
For more information about Green Haven, visit their website.
