WATERLOO REGION – YWCA Cambridge’s annual walk to end gender-based violence (GBV) returns for its fourteenth run Saturday, October 14 in downtown Galt.
Walk A Mile in Their Shoes is a walk to raise awareness of and end gender-based violence by raising funds to support YWCA Cambridge’s free violence prevention programming with girls and gender diverse youth across Waterloo Region.
To date, YWCA Cambridge has raised more than $172,000 through its annual Walk A Mile campaign and has a goal of raising $50,000 this year alone in effort to expand their programming and address the waitlist that began to soar during the pandemic and continues to grow.
“Many people see the pandemic as being well behind us,” said YWCA Cambridge CEO, Kim Decker. “In many ways it is; however, we’re still dealing with the impacts of the shutdowns and disruptions on youth who experienced unprecedented levels isolation and mental health challenges.
“Parents and teachers are still reporting increased behavioural and social challenges among youth – bullying remains a serious issue, particularly bullying related to gender, sexuality and ethno-cultural origins.”
YWCA Cambridge’s evidence-based programming with youth is rooted in violence prevention, empowering youth to develop self-confidence, and understanding of healthy relationships and boundaries and more. This programming receives no stable funding and yet, demand for it continues to outpace YWCA’s capacity to deliver it.
“A critical piece of ending gender-based violence is preventing it before it can take root. That’s why we do this work and that’s why we need our community’s help to make it available to everyone who needs it,” said Decker.
Walk a Mile in Their Shoes is a free, family-friendly event. Community members can register as individuals, join an existing team or create their own team – the signature red high heels will be available to walkers who wish to don them, but are not mandatory. To learn more, register to walk or sponsor a walker: ywcacambridge.ca
For more information, please contact Roz Gunn, Director of Communications and Advocacy, YWCA Cambridge, at r.gunn@ywcacambridge.ca.