SUPPORT US

Give to Your Local YWCA
Donate to YWCA COVID-19 Emergency Fund
Provide In-Kind Donations to Local YWCAs
Take Feminist Advocacy Action

SUPPORT YWCAS ON THE FRONTLINES


Since February 2020, local YWCAs have stepped up with rapid response for Canadians, without any additional resources such as:

  • Operating shelters for families fleeing violence and over 2000 units of affordable housing
  • Turning their community spaces into emergency shelters
  • Running child care for essential workers
  • Providing counselling services and safety planning remotely
  • Renting hotel spaces to provide shelter and maintain physical distancing
  • Providing food and essential supplies to seniors and other vulnerable communities
  • And more!

 

Join the fight against COVID-19 and help flatten the curve for vulnerable women and gender diverse people!

DONATE TO THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY FUND


Your generosity will be directed to housing and shelter staff and residents so we continue to serve those communities hardest hit. Your support will mean:

  • Access Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for staff in the front lines serving women and families in shelters, emergency and transitional housing.
  • Access cleaning products, and food to guarantee our centres and women have all they need while physically distancing
  • Access to funding to retain our highly qualified counsellors and social workers who are working remotely supporting women who are stranded and at risk of violence in their homes.
  • Supports and funding to redeploy staff , ready to serve as new and emergency needs arise under this crisis.

 

How your donation will help us:

  • A monthly gift of $8 provides daily meals for one person at our shelters. Give monthly and help us ensure food security in our communities
  • A gift of $45 will helps us purchase PPE for our staff and residents
  • A gift of  $150 activates remote access to a Counsellor’s for mental health support and family  case management
  • A gift of  $250 will cover one night’s hotel room to ensure women are safe while practicing physical isolation.

 

JOIN US AND PROVIDE ESSENTIAL SERVICES


Our YWCAs are being pushed to the limits and need your support. 

If you can provide the following in-kind donations or have other items you think would be helpful, get in touch:

 

  • Personal Protective Equipment

    • Disposable surgical face masks
    • Medical gowns
    • Medical goggles/glasses/face shields
    • Hand sanitizer
    • Disinfection wipes and liquids
    • Homemade non-medical face masks

 

  • Keep our communities fed, healthy and engaged

    • Canned goods
    • Pasta and pasta sauces
    • Peanut butter
    • Prepackaged foods like granola bars, fruit cups, cheese sticks
    • Fruit
    • Ready to eat meals
    • Instant noodles
    • Bottled water
    • Crossword puzzles
    • Word searches
    • Decks of cards
    • DIY crafts (paint by numbers, etc)
    • Colouring books
    • Pencil crayons
    • Puzzles
    • Beauty face masks
    • Yoga mats
    • Dish soap
    • Bar soap
    • Dry shampoo
    • Body wipes
    • Menstrual products
    • Clorox wipes
    • Underwear of all sizes (Small -2X)

Click the button to tell us how you can support us!

National Advocacy in Action


Through our National Advocacy, YWCA Canada has been ensuring government responses to COVID-19 consider the gendered impacts on women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people.

 

With the support of our pan-Canadian network, we’ve won:

  • $50 million for women’s shelters and sexual assault centres
  • $157.5 million for Reaching Home to address homelessness
  • Increasing the Temporary Wage Subsidy to 75% and ensuring charities, nonprofits and social enterprises are eligible
  • and more!

TAKE ACTION

COVID-19 has fundamentally changed Canada. 

“There is no question – the COVID-19 pandemic is going to hit women and their families the hardest. During times of crisis, it’s important to bolster support for Canada’s most vulnerable communities.” – Maya Roy, CEO, YWCA Canada

Globally, women, girls and gender-diverse people will be disproportionately impacted by this pandemic, and that will be the case in Canada as well. In times of uncertainty, existing inequality will be amplified. We are already seeing an increased need to address gender-based violence, improve access to economic security and invest in essential services.

If left unchecked, the COVID-19 pandemic will exacerbate gender inequities and make it difficult for women, girls and gender-diverse people to survive, let alone thrive in society. To heal our nation from this current crisis and alleviate existing economic and social ills, we must take a feminist approach to our recovery.


A Feminist Approach to COVID-19 Needs to:

  1. Establish Paid Sick Leave for All Workers
  2. Fund Emergency Child Care for Essential Workers
  3. Create a $10 Billion Emergency Fund for Charities and Non-Profits

Expand Paid Sick Leave for All Workers

We know that approximately half of Canada’s cases of COVID-19 are acquired due to community transmission. There are many reasons for this, but one of the ways to reduce the spread of infectious disease is to establish paid sick leave for all workers. Research shows that this an effective intervention. Canadian workers are less likely to have paid sick leave if they are precarious, part-time, temporary, and low-income workers. They are also disproportionately women and more likely to be essential workers such as cleaners, grocery store workers, health care workers and social service providers. We call on the government to immediately establish 21 days of paid job-protected sick leave for all federally regulated workers. In addition, the Federal government should leverage its leadership role and influence all provincial and territorial partners to follow suit.

Fund Emergency Child Care for Essential Workers

YWCA Canada is one of the largest providers of child care in the country. Some of our YWCAs continue to operate child care services so essential workers can address our national state of emergency. However, there is so much capacity that is currently being underutilized. We join Child Care Now and call on the government to provide federal funding to pay for emergency child care programs for children 0 to 12 and work with provinces and territories to sustain licensed child care programs.

Establish an $8 Billion Emergency Charitable and Non-Profit Sector Stabilization Fund

The government needs to backstop the sector and support community-based organizations such as local YWCAs to sustain operations, preserve infrastructure, enable essential service delivery and keep people employed during this pandemic. Based on financial modelling forecasts by IMAGINE Canada, we need to establish an $8-billion-dollar stabilization fund immediately. Over 70% of the charitable and non-profit sector is made up of women so safeguarding the sector will also protect women and gender equity.

LEARN MORE

Funding for Shelters and Sexual Assault Centres
Take Action - We need a Feminist Approach to COVID-19 Response
Charities and Non-Profits calling for $8 Billion Sector Stabilization Fund
G7 Must Put a Gender Lens on COVID-19 Efforts