YWCA launches new Valentines Day campaign

The YWCA along with the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters launched their very first Valentines Day campaign Tuesday. The initiative is called Love a Shelter. It is meant to bring awareness to ongoing violence against women, gender minorities, and to recognize the staff who work at shelters across the province. Nine different shelters in Alberta took part in the campaign and an official with the YWCA explains why this was launched on Valentine’s Day.  

“Valentine’s Day is a a tough day for a lot of people. It can either be really sentimental, it can be really impactful, it can also be triggering for a lot of women and people that are in shelter. So it’s important for us to recognize that it doesn’t have to be one of those days where you go out for dinner and you celebrate and buy gifts. It’s just recognizing that there’s a lot of love that comes from working in shelter, and there’s a lot of love expressed to the people that we try to provide services to. So we just wanted to kind of have a way to give back and have the community reach out and thank these wonderful employees for all that they do for us,” said Cat Champagne, External Relations Director, YWCA Lethbridge & District.

Different schools across the city participated in today’s launch by making Valentines Day cards.