Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
Walk A Mile in Their Shoes 2025 Walk a Mile, End the Cycle
📅 Saturday, October 18, 2025
🕙 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 City Hall Civic Square, Downtown Cambridge
Walk A Mile in Their Shoes is YWCA Cambridge’s annual community fundraising walk and a public stand against gender-based violence (GBV). It’s a powerful, visible show of solidarity.
On Saturday, October 18 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm, our community will gather in downtown Cambridge to complete a symbolic 1-mile walk, starting and ending at City Hall Civic Square. Together, we’ll raise our voices, take up space, and fund the vital services that combat gender-based violence in Cambridge and North Dumfries.
Whether you’re walking with coworkers, friends, family, or solo—you’re part of a growing movement calling for change.
All proceeds go directly to YWCA Cambridge’s life-saving work
- Our recently-opened 24/7 emergency shelter for women experiencing homelessness
- Free, youth-led violence prevention programs in local schools and community spaces
With speakers, music, art, yoga, lunch, and other family-friendly activities, this is an event you don’t want to miss. Let’s show Waterloo Region Cambridge shows up for survivors!
💔 Gender-Based Violence Is Getting Worse
A woman or girl is killed every 48 hours in Canada.
Intimate partner sexual assault reports in Canada rose 163% in 8 years.
62 women and children were killed by GBV in Ontario between Nov 2023 and Nov 2024.
📈 The Economic Toll of GBV is Massive
GBV and IPV cost Canada more than $9 billion annually—from healthcare and legal costs to lost productivity (according to a 2013 CCPA report)
Each sexual assault can cost between $136,000–$164,000, including victim suffering, justice system involvement, and healthcare.
Survivors often lose a month of work productivity per year, translating to systemic loss and personal hardship.
🏠 You Can’t Heal Without a Safe Place
75% of women experiencing homelessness are GBV survivors.
Only 13% of shelter beds in Canada are for women.
79% of survivors say housing unaffordability prevents them from leaving abuse.
🧒 Change Starts With Youth
Girls and young women (15–24) are 5x more likely to be assaulted.
YWCA Cambridge’s free, youth-led programs teach consent, healthy relationships, and how to stand up to violence.
These programs rely on fundraising events like this one.
📍 Cambridge City Hall, Civic Square | October 18 | 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Walk solo or with a team—everyone is welcome.
What to Expect
🗺️ 1-mile guided walk through downtown Cambridge
🎤 Emcee & speakers + music
🎨 Art reveal at The W
🖍️ Kids’ sign-making + “silly walk” fun
🧘 Yoga warm-up by Wild Heart Yoga
🥪 Free lunch courtesy of Cambridge Sobeys (be sure to register to walk to get your lunch ticket!)
👕 Free T-Shirts for the first 25 Walkers!
📸 Photo ops, community booths & more!
📢 Fundraise as a Peer-to-Peer Champion
Be a team leader and turn your voice into a vehicle for change. Share why you’re walking and ask your friends, family, coworkers and neighbours to support your campaign.
You’ll get access to:
A customizable fundraising page
Email & social templates
Our full Team Leader Toolkit
💌 Need help? Contact Britteny Blackman, Manager of Donor Relations and Communications, at b.blackman@ywcacambridge.ca.
❤️ Donate or Support a Team
Not walking? No problem. Donate directly or support a friend’s campaign.
Every contribution fuels local solutions—shelter beds, youth education, survivor support. Donate as an individual, support a fundraiser, or join a team to create real impact in Cambridge. Every contribution, no matter the size, helps change lives.
🤝 Become a Sponsor
Align your brand with real impact and be seen as a community leader in the work to end gender-based violence.
Your sponsorship supports:
✅ Supportive and impactful shelter services
✅ Free youth education and programming
✅ Powerful public awareness campaigns
📩 Contact Nataleigh Ballantyne, Director of Philanthropy at n.ballantyne@ywcacambridge.ca to become a sponsor today!
Join the Movement
It takes a community to end gender-based violence. Be part of the change—walk with us.