Angel Freedman said she has a personal reason to keep up her Fill a Purse for a Sister Campaign, as it launched for its seventh year Sept. 1.
The campaign to provide women and youth in crisis with purses filled with basic necessities has grown and kept running through the pandemic, entering its second year as a registered charity.
The purses are provided to local shelters and crisis agencies. The need has grown with domestic violence increasing during the pandemic, something Freedman said she experienced herself as a child.
“I know what it was like to have parents have that kind of chaos,” she said. “I just want to lend my voice and do as much as I can so that every woman will have a purse —when, unfortunately, sometimes she leaves without a purse — so her dignity will be intact.”
The charity asks people to fill the purses with necessities like hygiene products, dental products, small pieces of clothing, and with the pandemic, masks and sanitizer. Drop-off locations are organized with community leads across the country, with the initiative regularly collecting more than 10,000 purses.
This year, the campaign is getting a boost from municipalities. Freedman, a Stouffville-based social worker, challenged her mayor, Iain Lovatt, to promote the event, drum up support in the community and collect 1,000 purses within it. Lovatt then challenged Newmarket Mayor John Taylor to do the same, with Freedman filming separate videos for both mayors.
“This is an opportunity to bring dignity and support to women and girls in our community who are in crisis,” Taylor said in a Sept. 2 video. “Please Newmarket, get behind this campaign.”
The town also agreed to have the Ray Twinney Recreation Complex be a drop-off location for the purses.
Freedman said it is a good development to promote the effort and hopes other mayors might get involved, with people on social media tagging them.
“They’re such great sports and gentlemen and really care about community," she said. "It worked really well."
Freedman said the need to support crisis organizations is great with the pandemic impacting domestic violence. Calls spiked for Canada’s Assaulted Women Helpline amidst the lockdowns.
She said she hopes to gather at least 10,000 purses between all the different communities taking part.
“On my watch, every woman gets a purse,” she said.
More information is available on the campaign website. Drop-off locations in Newmarket include the Ray Twinney Recreation Complex, Still in Style Resale Boutique on 203 Main St. S, and Hot Wheelz Auto Service at 16995 Yonge St.
You can make a financial donation by e-transfer to [email protected] or by mailing a cheque to Fill a Purse for a Sister Campaign, 6393 Main St., Stouffville, ON, L4A 1G4. Tax receipts are provided for donations of $25 and higher.
