YWCA Delivers "Wake Up Call" To Peterborough Businesses & Community Members

On average, every six days a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner. This stunning Statistics Canada figure is front and centre in a local campaign in Peterborough that highlights the ongoing need for YWCA services that help women and their children safely escape violent relationships.
 
On Monday, May 1st, YWCA volunteers delivered sleep masks to hundreds of local businesses as a symbolic "wake up call" about the prevalence of violence against women and what can be done about it.

“Each year, heinous preventable acts of violence are committed against women by their intimate partners and ex-partners,” says Jen Cureton, YWCA Director of Philanthropy and Communications. “The numbers are staggering but it’s the lived-experiences of women and children that can’t be ignored. We want to open people’s eyes to the truth of what’s happening. But more than that, we want to inform people that they can play a positive role in helping to make a difference.”
 
Attached to each YWCA Wake Up Call sleep mask delivered is a card listing YWCA services and a call-to-action for all members of the community: "Walk with us on Friday, May 26, 2017."

The ongoing need to build awareness about the issue of physical and sexual violence—and what can be done to help women and children—is how the idea for Wake Up Call came about. On Monday, YWCA volunteers visited hundreds of local businesses because they want to open people’s eyes to the truth of what’s happening to women and children, and invite people to do something about it.
 
Local businesses are encouraged to register for Walk a Mile in Her Shoes at walkamilepeterborough.com. All proceeds from Walk a Mile in Her Shoes support local women and children fleeing abuse.

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