In our culture, March 8th is as important as the Second Sunday of May in Canada. Furthermore, because in my culture we love to celebrate, we start with March 1st, and we culminate with March 8th. Between March 1st and March 8th, women receive a little tingle called “Mărțișor” ( a diminutive of March, translated word by word as “little March”). The red and white string is attached to diverse small gifts, flowers or just totems. We believe that the person who wears the red and white string would enjoy a prosperous and healthy year in our tradition.
Five years ago, the women around me decided that on top of the Christmas donation – From Our Table to Your Table – to bring a little celebration for March 8th to women of the Transitional Living program at YWCA Hamilton. So we started collecting pouches filled with five items and a short note of support. And we keep growing year after year! Just last year, we donated over 140 pouches.
Before starting each campaign, we like to get in touch with the YWCA Hamilton team and ask them if there is anything in particular they need. 2021 was not different! YWCA is doing an amazing job supporting women worldwide. They are a leader in providing housing for women and families and operates emergency shelters, transitional and short-term housing, and permanent affordable housing. In Hamilton, the Transitional Living Program provides private units for women who have nowhere else to turn to and supports that help them get back on their feet.
For 2021, they are calling for support in finalizing the new Putman Family YWCA on Ottawa Street. For many of us, our home is a safe haven, but the new building – Putman Family – will be a key building block for a future without violence for many women and children. In another story, we will tell you the value of the pledge we made; for now, all you have to remember is the fact that your support will provide women and children with a stable home and resources and opportunities to rebuild their lives.
In our group of women, we have many ideas and a lot more fun along with each project or campaign we create. We are a group of women looking to support other women because supporting other women made us more successful. In close to 20 years since we started the non-for-profit, all our events, campaigns or projects had two focuses: women and children.
The campaign for 2021 will run from March 8th to May 10th, 2021, and you have the opportunity to support our campaign by buying handmade knitted sets (scarve, hat and mittens) or separate items made from 100% alpaca wool from Peru. The yarn is imported to Canada by a woman entrepreneur who owns a local business. This is the main reason we chose “Lanador” https://lanador.com/ on top of the high quality of the material and superb colours.
As I mentioned before, we are a group of women looking to help other women to be as fortunate as we are. We are ready to start knitting the beautiful sets and we are adding a little love to each one. A woman alone has power, but collectively, we can have a significant impact on any
community!
HOW YOU CAN HELP US TO REACH OUR GOAL:
1. You can order a set, pick from any four colours you want to combine, give us your address, make an e-transfer, and in 10 days, the set will be at your door.
2. You can order just one item, following the same protocol as above.
3. Maybe you are not interested in buying any of the beautiful handmade items. Still, you want to support us, you can donate as little as the value of TODAY’S COFFEE using the direct e-trasnfer to our not-for-profit, and the entire amount will go to our pledge for the “Putman” location.
Remember that you are paying for a handmade product that, in our opinion, is PRICELESS! We put our time and passion to work, and we do not charge one penny for our time. “Lanador” gave us the wool at the factory price, and the money collected will go 100% back to the YWCA Hamilton Putman location.
The Blue Set
For an adult set:
Full set: 230cad
Separate items: Hat 60 Mittens 40 and Scarf 130
For a children (under 10) set:
Full set: 200cad
Separate items: Hat 40 Mittens 30 and Scarf 130
Any of your donation or payment, including the value of TODAY’S COFFEE, can go directly to: arts4peoplemovement@gmail.com
The truth is that if every connection I have on my personal Facebook account will channel the power of ONE DAY’s coffee to our campaign, this is how we will change the equation and achieve our goal! The knitting will be a bonus!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! As different as it is, let’s make our FIVE YEARS in the “MARCH 8th CAMPAIGN” for women in YWCA Transitional Living Program from YWCA Hamilton one to remember!
