We could not have asked for a happier start to 2016 than to see our ‪#‎Rolls4Strolls‬ campaign for a mobile drop-in wrap up not just having reached its goal, but exceeding it by $5000! We’ve now got more than $31,000 to go RV-shopping with, although hopefully we’ll find a vehicle for our late-night outreach team at a price that will also leave us a cushion for maintenance, repairs, and all the other things that can go wrong with vehicles.
Thank you, thank you to the many people who responded with such generosity to our campaign. Special thanks to long-time supporter and former Peers board member Carolyn Showler for donating the proceeds of her pre-Christmas jewelry sale to the campaign, and to local band The Tuesdays for their tremendous support right from the start of the #Rolls4Strolls campaign. The University of Victoria Student Society held the Red Umbrella Ball on Dec. 17 to mark the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, and raised an amazing $1,600 for our campaign!
And a big shout-out to the Lake family, whose wonderful $11,000 donation was the one that took us over the top to meet (and later beat) our goal. That was a very special gift that evoked whoops of happiness and even some happy tears at the Peers office. Many thanks to the Lakes as well for their generosity and support with other Peers needs over the Christmas season.
All in, 170 donors supported our campaign, with donations ranging from $3 to several thousand. Nine community events – dances, yoga classes, bake sales, craft markets – donated all or part of their proceeds to the cause. And our board members jumped into the campaign with much enthusiasm, launching numerous team challenges that really kicked up the donations. Just feeling that much love for Peers Victoria coming from Greater Victorians was its own gift.
Watch for more updates here as we start the process of shopping for an RV or camperized van – and if you’ve got any leads or special expertise, we’d love to hear from you. We’re so excited to be able to put a mobile drop-in back out on Victoria’s outdoor sex-work strolls – we’ve heard time and again from the people who work there how much it means to them to have that service, and that they feel safer in their work having the Peers outreach team and RV close at hand. Together we made this happen! (Photo by David Kanigan depicting the Rainblossom Project, Vancouver.)