VWN to the Rescue!
Valley Women's Network of Abbotsford jumped at the chance to help women and children in need this year. Not only did they honor their annual tradition of purchasing gifts for families, they also rolled up their sleeves and stuffed over 30 stockings filled with all kinds of goodies, toiletries and toys. And when our hearts were already exploding with pride for our community, this marvelous networking group of like minded women presents the WRSFV with a $500 cheque for the 2011 Christmas fund. Thank you Dale Kerr, Valerie Krahmer, Robyn Bussiere, Doreen Buhler and all the members of the Abbotsford VWN for your continued kindness and support.

The Winter Wonderland Project - Flashmobs in Abbotsford
Thank you to Mary Boonstra and to all of the dancers who made this possible. Mary is a police officer in Abbotsford and lives in Mission. She loves to raise awareness for charities in both communities. In December she coordinated dance rehearsals for over 100 dancers of all ages and abilities. Not only was she able to keep the Flashmob locations a secret, she transformed many Abbotsford and Mission locals into professional Flashmobbers! Each dancer donated $5 to the Women's Resource Society shelter programs for women and children It is wonderful when the community comes together in fun while supporting a great cause. Watch both of the surprise Flashmob videos here… Were you there?

Sevenoaks Shopping Centre –Dec 16, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFSO9Cv1AO4&feature=share

A special thank you to Lepp Farm Market, PriceSmart on South Fraser Way, Hemlock Mountain, and Thrifty Foods for helping the WRSFV reach the sales goal for the Purdy’s milk chocolate bar campaign. Thanks to you and all the supportive businesses of Abbotsford and Mission listed below we can continue spread the message to Stop the Violence and serve the women and children of our communities! Please share in the support for all of these committed community members.

Grab a Java, Heritage Clarke Theatre, Sue’s Copy Place, Raydar Autobody, Fraser Valley Building Supply, the Gold Bin, the Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Mikes Steakhouse, Pete’s, Pizza, the Power House at Stave Falls, Mission Save on Foods, Stiletto Hair Salon, TD Canada Trust, Envision Credit Union, Van City, BMO - Corey Cassel, BMO – South Fraser Way, Mission Curves, Rex Cox Menswear, Casa Del Sol, Mattus Appliance, Eleni’s Restaurant, Sumas Save On Foods, Tourism Abbotsford, Fusion Hair Design, European Day Spa, the West Coast Women’s Show, the Sewing and Craft Show, the BC Custom Car Show, ‘It’s My Wedding” Wedding Show, Sevenoaks Shopping Centre.

Rockin River Music Fest August 12 & 13, 2011
Pat Vale – Royal Lepage

Over 10,000 people were in attendance to see live music acts such as Travis Tritt, Lonestar, Sawyer Brown and many more at the Rockin' River Music Fest August 12, 13, and 14. Pat Vale, Long time Realtor in Mission donated the use of the golf carts and arranged for onsite transportation for the guests. Rides were given by volunteers and donations were accepted on behalf of the WRSFV's shelter programs in Mission. Concert goers attending the country music festival used the golf cart transport to avoid walking the distance from the campsites to the festival main stage.

$2000 was raised for the WRSFV shelter programs for women and children! Thank you to Pat Vale and colleagues at the Royal LePage in Mission, the festival coordinators and the reliable volunteers who drove the wild dusty roads of the Mission Raceway for the weekend.

The Shopper's Drug Mart Tree of Life fundraising campaign

The dedicated staff and management of Mission Shoppers Drug Mart selected their favorite charity for the national 'Tree of Life Campaign.' The Women's Resource Society of the Fraser Valley (WRSFV) were the honored recipients of over $4000. The campaign began on September 17and ran until October 14, 2011 in all stores across Canada.

Customers could shop in the stores and purchase a leaf, a butterfly or a cardinal in various denominations in support of various women's health organisations. It is then added to a branch on the 'Tree of Life' displayed in each store. Our Mission location went above and beyond this campaign and hosted a Burger Brew night, a garage sale and a raffle to raise as much money for the WRSFV that they could.

Thank you Shoppers Drug Mart for your continued support of the WRSFV and for raising over 17 Million dollars for many organizations like ours over the past 10 years.
In the Picture: Barb Mitchell, Michelle Penner and Eve Jakubisinova Norsemen

100% of all proceeds go directly to the women’s health charity organization that was chosen by the Associate-owner of that particular store. The Women's Resource Society of the Fraser Valley was chosen as the charity of choice by two local Shopper's Drug Mart Stores.

Girl's Day Out September 18, 2011

Best Western Plus Regency Inn & Conference Centre presents "Girl's Day Out" on Sunday September 18, 1:00 - 5:00 pm. Tickets only $10.00. Partial proceeds from this event were donated to the Women’s Resource Society of the Fraser Valley.

Shred a Thon SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

The 4th annual VanCity Shred a thon was held on Saturday September 10th. Once again the dedicated staff and management of the Mission Junction Vancity Branch worked tirelessly selling hot dogs, pop and chips courtesy of Mission Save on Foods, while shredding valuable documents for a donation to the WRSFV. Local merchants including, Lanka Jewels, Mr. Mikes, Starbucks, Boston Pizza and a Buck or Two donated door prizes. Urban Impact volunteered their time and shiny shredding trucks that shredded 1320 pounds of paper, raising $1164.82 for the shelter programs for women and children dealing with the impacts of violence, outshredding last year’s total by $95.83.

2011 Pancake Breakfast SATURDAY, AUGUST 13

On Saturday August 13th, armed with a griddle, pancake batter, sausages and wieners, a core group of committed men and women created breakfast and lunch in the middle of downtown Mission’s 1st Avenue for Mission Fest 2011. Exceeding all expectations, hungry festival attendees lined up for breakfast at 10am. A smooth transition into hotdogs at lunchtime proved to be the right thing to do as our fearless volunteers sold out of pancakes and sausages. The smell of sautéed onions wafted through the streets bringing even more hungry customers to donate funds to the WRSFV.

A BIG Thank you to Mission Save on Foods for supporting our work against domestic violence in our community. Shout outs to Mission Springs, Sue’s Copy Place, and the Mission Heritage Association for their support. Special thanks to Mission Possible Spy Store who shared their space with us when they didn’t have to. Finally, our deepest appreciation to the energetic volunteers who shared their time with us on Saturday!

Art Exhibition - The Opening of a Passage
@ the Reach in Abbotsford
June 16 – July 2, 2011

"The Opening of a Passage", a group art show by the Women of the Warm Zone, was well received by the general public. Opening night was an exciting night for the artists who attended. Beautiful guitar music filled the room as people mingled and enjoyed the art over light refreshments.

“The Opening of a Passage is sad and beautiful. Many thanks.”

MD Laser & Cosmetic Clinic

On June 2, 2011 – MD Cosmetic & Laser Clinic celebrated their 10 year anniversary. At the heart of the celebration was a fundraiser for the Women’s Resource Society of the Fraser Valley. “We are so proud to be a part of this community and have found it so rewarding to provide services to thousands of people that truly make them feel better about themselves,” said Dr. Alibhai, Medical Director of MD Cosmetic & Laser Clinic. “We want to take this opportunity to not only celebrate, but to give back to our community in a meaningful way.” MD Laser and Cosmetic Clinic in Abbotsford raised $2,361.00 for the WRSFV shelter programs. Thank you to the staff, management and the open house participants for making this donation possible.

Canada Women's Foundation -Shelter From The Storm
Shelter From The Storm - click here to make a difference and help support women in your community to better their lives

Congratulations to the 3 BIG WINNERS of the WRSFV Luxury Raffle!

The Women’s Resource Society of the Fraser Valley (WRSFV) sold tickets for this amazing raffle with 100% of the proceeds going to support the many programs and services offered by the Society. The three raffle winners were announced on March 14th 2011. Thanks to all of you we raised $3180 towards our programs and services. The Winner of the Canadian Diamond Earrings from Lanka Jewels Is Jessie Armstrong Of Mission BC. The West Coast trip to Ucluelet on Orca Air with accommodations at the Black Rock Resort was won by Linda Watson of Abbotsford. The Grand Prize of tickets for 2 to anywhere, courtesy of West Jet Airlines, was won by Linda Nardelli of Tsawwassen. We would like to extend a huge thank you to our kind sponsors, please visit the websites of these great businesses and support them whenever you can. West Jet Airlines, Orca Air, the Black Rock Resort, Lanka Jewels.

March 8th 2011 marked the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day

This year marked the global centenary of International Women’s Day, a day to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of women worldwide. The Women’s Resource Society of the Fraser Valley (WRSFV) along with partners Business and Professional Women (Mission and Abbotsford), Valley Women’s Network (Mission and Abbotsford) and the Mission/Abbotsford Soroptimists honored the occasion on Friday, March 11th at the Sports Legacy Centre at #4 3270 Trethewey Street in Abbotsford BC. The fun-filled celebration was called, “100 Years, 100 Local, Inspiring Women”. Stories were collected that profiled 100 special women, spanning 100 years in the Mission and Abbotsford communities. These stories were on display during the event.

 The event also raised money from ticket sales and from a silent auction for a couple of international development projects that work to improve the safety and well-being of women and girls. Event attendees decided where the money was spent by selecting by ballot the projects they wished to support. The projects elected were Prajwala, an anti - trafficking organization, the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign that raises awareness and mobilize support in Canada for Africa’s grandmothers, and Relief for the women and children of Haiti.

The key note address was given by social activist and educator, Satwinder Bains, Director of the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies at UFV. The evening’s entertainment was wonderful and included the UFV Gidda Team, Kytami, a fabulous fusion fiddler formerly of the local band Delhi 2 Dublin, Tha Fae, an Egyptian Cabaret/Fusion Belly Dance Troupe, and others. Dinner was included and featured a multi-cultural buffet. Tickets were sold on a sliding scale so the inability to afford a ticket would not be a barrier for anyone who wanted to attend.

 A big thank you to all those in attendance, the evening was a wonderful success! We could not have done it with the support of our amazing volunteers, businesses and individuals.

Quilt Raffle

A quilting group known as the ‘Piece Makers’ meet at the WRSFV Mission office every Monday.  This dedicated group of women is passionate about using donated fabrics to create wonderful pieces of art in the form of quilts. We use these quilts for our clients and to help us raise much needed funds for our programs and services. We held a quilt Raffle for one of those creations. The piece was inspired by a trip to Minter Gardens! The winner of this beautiful quilt is Hyacinth Burton of Mission BC. Minter Gardens was proud to be the inspiration of this charitable quilt and sent along 2 complimentary passes to the Gardens and beautiful garden images included in a yearly calendar. Thank you Minter Gardens, the Piece Makers and Congratulations to Hyacinth Burton the lucky winner!

"Mother's Day Raffle"

The Mother's Day Raffle was a great success. A total of $647.00 was raised to help support the volunteer program of the Mission Police-based Victim Servces. Congratulations to Duanne Meeks, Rae MacLeod and Bev Schmahuan.

bcresponsiblegambling.ca

The BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses
Pepsi Refresh Project.
refresheverything.ca/bcsth

West Coast Women's Show
We would like to thank Murat and staff of "Encore Presentations", creator of the West Coast Women's Show, for their support. The WRSFV launched our Purdy's Campaign and promoted information about our services and programs. Congratulations to, Darlene Douglas, the winner of the gift basket valued at over $100.
West Coast Women's Show.

Oasis Spa
Oasis spa hosted a Networking, Wine and Wellness evening at Cedarbrooke Chateau on Wednesday Sept. 29th. A great time was had by all. The night was not complete without a tribute to Dean Martin and Bobby Darin. Thank you to all the vendors who took the time to participate;

Mr. Mikes, who provided the delicious martinis.

Mission Leisure Centre, who showcased Tri Fit Boxing for health and fitness

Congratulations Teresa Yu on your first year of business at the Cedarbrooke Chateau

http://www.oasis-retreat.com

Shred-A-Thon
Mission's Vancity location hosted their 3rd annual Shred-A-Thon on September 11th, 2010. Gwen Atkinson, Grace Saris and the dedicated staff worked hard to promote this event. The parking lot was transformed into a carbon neutral paper trail to success thanks to the kind contribution from URBAN IMPACT RECYCLING. The shredding and recycling efforts raised $1068.99, exceeding last year's numbers. We would like to send a BIG thank you to Gwen and all the Vancity staff for their continued support.

The 2009 Walk/Run for Shelter Event raised over $5,000.00
A big "Thank you" to all of our donors, sponsors, contributors,
volunteers and participants and their sponsors who made this event possible.

Thank you to everyone for supporting the Women’s Resource Society of the Fraser Valley’s
Walk/Run for Shelter fundraiser.

9th Annual
CHRISTMAS at the CLARK

This is a fund raiser for the Mission Food Bank and for WRSFV. Last year the event saw the best and most extensive assortment of silent auction items ever and the revenues were the highest yet. We hope to do even better this year. We currently have a donation of a 100 year old piano!

The 9th Annual CHRISTMAS at the CLARK Featured performers; Arvind Smani, Kenny Hess, Carley Rae Jepsen, Kristal Barrett, Back Door Slam. And of course the Silent Auction & door prizes!