FFAW-Unifor Members at Beothic Fish Processors Donate to Women’s Shelter
January 5, 2018
01/05/2018
FFAW-Unifor Women’s Advocate Della Melendy has pulled it off again. Despite serious health issues she was back working at Beothic Fish Processors for the season and collecting for her local women’s shelter. With the help of her union sisters, Women’s Advocate Sheila Howell, and coworkers Maggie Hawkins and Bonnell Mouland, they collected enough money from members at her local to buy 43 gift cards, totalling $1075. Della presented the donation to Cara House in Gander on November 9, 2017.
The Executive Director of Cara House, AnnMarie Connors, accepted the gift cards and said, “We are once again overwhelmed with the generosity of your donations and amazed by the efforts of your collection!”
The cards will be given to women and their families who are in the process of settling into a new life. Some of the cards will be used to support families in the shelter, while others will support women as they move on to start a new life. AnnMarie added, “Many of the families we serve leave everything they own behind, in search of a life free from violence. Your donations will make that journey that much easier.”
For Della, who has been spearheading the collection drive for many years, it’s something she is passionate about. She says:
“Being a Women’s Advocate has opened my eyes to the serious issue of violence women that occurs in our homes, communities and workplaces. When a woman leaves the shelter she is presented with a Basket of Courage which contains household items, toiletries, monetary donations or gift cards.”
In talking about the support she enjoys from her Local, she says:
“On behalf of my coworkers and myself, we feel honoured to present these gift cards to our local shelter. I must say, the support from our local is awesome. On Fridays I go around collecting a dollar from my coworkers and most Fridays some of my coworkers have my little container placed on my lunch table reminding me that it is Cara House Day.”
Congratulations to Della and members of her local at Beothic Fish Processors. What starts off as a dollar here and there, it certainly adds up. The end result is a lot of support for women and their children when they are most vulnerable and need help the most.