Windsor Women Working with Immigrant Women (WWWIW) will get a funding boost to some of their programs thanks to a donation from Shoppers Drug Mart.
A cheque for $18,000 was donated to WWWIW on Wednesday morning. Funds were raised through eight area Shoppers Drug Marts from their Growing Women's Health Campaign. The campaign, now in its 18th year, collects donations from customers as they are checking out. In exchange for the donation, they get to write their name on a paper leaf, which then gets posted on the storefront window, eventually forming the image of a tree.
Money raised over the four-week time period then gets donated to a local charity of Shopper's choosing.
Dr. Matthew Thibert, owner of the Shopper's at Devonshire Mall, said it was great to choose a charity this year that helps the community in so many ways.
"I think we realized how much this charity integrates women into the community," said Thibert. "Health isn't always just about feeling healthy or being healthy. It's about feeling accepted, feeling integrated and feeling part of a community."
The money will go towards several of the non-profit organization's programs, all of which have the common goal of helping immigrant and refugee women become participating members of Canadian society.
"This donation is very generous," said WWWIW Interim Executive Director Olivia Brezeanu."But currently, although we have so many programs running, we still have a lot of programs underfunded or not funded."
