Guelph Gift Card Drive Launches In Response To Domestic Violence Increase

‘She is Your Neighbour’ Holiday Campaign will launch on November 16 to help local women and children create a new beginning free from violence.

From November 16 to December 18, Your Neighbourhood Credit Union (YNCU) and Home Group Realty will launch the ‘She is Your Neighbour’ Holiday Campaign. The four-week campaign will ask the community to donate grocery gift cards to support Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis. Gift cards of $25 or more will be matched by YNCU with a $10 donation when dropped off at a participating YNCU branch.

“As a co-operative financial institution, we are proud to invest our profits back into our neighbourhoods,” said Archie Bonifacio, Chief Member Experience Officer at YNCU. “The campaign is about neighbours helping neighbours and helping to ensure that local services are available for women and children when they need them.”

A CBC article earlier this year reported federal government consultations with frontline organizations have revealed up to a 30 per cent increase in domestic-violence since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In these uncertain times, the increased isolation brought on by COVID-19 has had a noticeable increase in the need for our services. We are encouraged to stay home, and home is simply not a safe place for everyone,” said Sly Castaldi, Executive Director of Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis. “Throughout this pandemic, we are seeing a significant amount of food insecurity and women struggling to provide the basic necessities for themselves and their families. Gift cards are a vital piece in providing some temporary relief to some of our community’s most vulnerable.”

Every individual who donates to the ‘She Is Your Neighbour’ Holiday Campaign will receive a gift courtesy of YNCU. The campaign is a collaborative community partnership with YNCU, Home Group Realty and Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis.

“The events of this year have brought to the forefront the basic purpose of ‘home’: a place of shelter. Home Group Realty believes that every member of our community should have access to shelter, and the She Is Your Neighbour Holiday Campaign is an opportunity to empower women in our community to seek shelter for themselves and their loved ones”, said Mary McEachern, REALTOR at Home Group Realty Brokerage.

To donate a gift card in support of Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis visit: www.yncu.com/sheisyourneighbour.