Sahara Desert Challenge for Shelter | Royal LePage Shelter Foundation

Off I go again!!

Welcome to my Sahara Desert Challenge for Shelter fundraising page!

As a real estate agent, my job is to help my clients find the perfect place to live and I can't imagine ‘home’ being a place of fear and danger. Sadly, on any given night in Canada close to 6,000 women and children stay in an emergency shelter because it’s not safe for them to be at home. At the same time, 300 are turned away each night because all the shelters are full. Even more tragically, on average, every 6 days in Canada a woman is killed by her current or former partner. In too many cases women go to their local shelter because they are literally running for their lives. 

Personally I know ALL the feelings associated with their horror as sadly I am a domestic abuse survivor.  At the tender age of 21 and with an 8 month old daughter in tow I knocked on the door of one of these shelters and I have never looked back. It has been years and years of working on a new life for us both and the trauma of what we endured during those years will never leave me, but as we all know – out of adversity comes growth! 

These days I do what I can to help give back.  I know about the lack of funding and the many women and children that are getting turned away as a result and I want to help by ensuring a safe place and support services are available to them when they need it. They deserve our help and our encouragement that a brighter future is possible. I also recognize that educating our youth about building healthy relationships is the key to breaking the cycle of family violence in Canada. 

Will you join me in making a difference?

Just like I did in 2015 across Peru and in 2017 across Iceland, once again I will be trekking over 100 km in November of this year across the Sahara Desert in support of these shelters. For 5 straight days, my colleagues from Royal LePage offices across Canada and I will be hiking 7 to 10 hours a day across difficult terrain in this hot and dry desert climate, with temperatures dropping considerably at night. We will be sleeping in large group tents, using camping-style bathroom facilities, and going without electricity, running water, cell service and the other comforts of home. To be eligible to participate, I must raise at least $5,000. This journey will not be easy and it has already started for me. I will be preparing physically and mentally for months and will be covering all my own travel costs.

Each dollar we raise and every step we take will make it easier for women and children in our communities to walk safely away from violence. 

Click SPONSOR ME to help me reach my fundraising goal. Thank you for your support!

Note: The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation issues tax receipts in February for all donations ($20+) made in the previous calendar year.

• Goal $5,000.00
• Raised $4,121.36