BarrieToday readers, local businesses help raise over $2,000 for the Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie

On International Women’s Day, people around the world celebrate the political, cultural and socio-economic achievements of women near and far.

And we have many extraordinary women to honour right here in Barrie who make our community a better place.

While it is important to mark this day with celebration, it is also a time to reflect on the reality of gender inequality in our world.  

Women, girls and non-binary people are at the highest risk of experiencing domestic abuse, homelessness, poverty and gender-based violence.

In an effort to promote gender equality and assist women facing adversity in our community, BarrieToday created a campaign to raise much-needed funds for the Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie.

The campaign was simple. We secured gift cards for the Women & Children’s Shelter of Barrie donated by Giant Tiger (Cundles Rd. location) and asked our readers to purchase the gift cards for the shelter at $25 apiece through our online pop-up store, with all money donated and the gift cards to be donated to the shelter.

BarrieToday then matched the $25 gift card purchase price to double the donation. 

But that’s not all. 

We were able to leverage the power of our community to make the donations even bigger by asking our local business partners to match our donation. 

Marandola Contracting Inc., Paul Sadlon Motors and Remax Hallmark - Peggy Hill Group Realty all answered the call.

For each gift card purchased in our pop-up store, every dollar was matched four times with all proceeds going directly to the shelter.

In Barrie, the generosity of our readers and advertisers was translated into a donation of $2,250 for the shelter, plus the gift cards!

Thank you for helping us to strengthen our community and empower local women in need here in Barrie.