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When you found a charitable non-profit, there will be many milestones to reach for, achieve, and celebrate. S.H.A.D.E. (Safe Housing and Directed Empowerment) Inc., a new second stage housing initiative in Winnipeg, recognizes the importance of celebrating these milestones, as they provide great encouragement and inspire us all to work even harder to achieve our mission. SHADE’s mission is to support immigrant and refugee women and their children who have been impacted by intimate partner violence and/or family violence as they work to rebuild their lives and transition from a place of victimization to a place of confidence, healing, stability, and resiliency.
We, the SHADE Board, are on a journey of marking milestones and celebrating them along the way:
January 20, 2014 – SHADE registered as a non-profit
June 2014 – SHADE received its’ first grant money for Organizational Development from United Way Winnipeg
December 8, 2015 – SHADE held its first Annual General Meeting [AGM]
February 7, 2017 – SHADE received charitable status from the Canada Revenue Agency, backdated to June 7, 2016
September 2018 – SHADE officially launched its’ website and Facebook page
October 2018 – SHADE added a CanadaHelps donation page to the SHADE website (* this allows for easy donations to be made online with instant income tax receipting)
January 2019 – SHADE entered into partnership with Seven Oaks Immigrant Services
January 2019 – SHADE received a Letter of Support from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority [WRHA] Social Services branch of the Seven Oaks area
April 11, 2019 – Sherrie Winstanley, Founder and Director of SHADE was honoured at the annual Volunteer Manitoba Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony at Club Regent. From the 460 nominations received, 30 award recipients were selected. Sherrie received the Manitoba Real Estate Association [MREA] Shelter Foundation award and a $2500.00 cheque for SHADE.
These milestones are important to remember. When it feels as though little progress is being made, these accomplishments remind us that behind the scenes, progress is indeed underway. A small, very dedicated, skilled, and passionate Board with a few volunteers are laying a solid foundation, crucial for the time when SHADE becomes operational.
Future milestones we look forward to achieving include:
September 2019 – launching SHADE’s first program in the Seven Oaks area called, MIRRORS: A Reflection of Immigrant Women Building Healthy Relationships, and
May 9, 2020 – Hosting SHADE’s first fundraiser, “Under This Roof” – a Capital Campaign kick-off to raise funds for SHADE’s first residence. We invite you to mark this date! Location: The Maples Collegiate in The Commons, 1 – 3 p.m. More details to come.
We continue to write grants, policies, initial documents, network and build relationships, cull partnerships, and seek platforms to share with you and others this passion we have for SHADE and its mandate to support immigrant and refugee women leaving domestic abuse. We aim to live and work by high ethics, with transparency, merging challenges with best practices, cultural sensitivity, compassion, a strong work ethic, while continually learning from one another and our experiences, and educating others.
I invite you to be involved with us – with SHADE.
Kindly,
Sherrie