COCHRANE— About 40 vehicles set out on the scenic Cruz-4-Her through the Rocky Mountains on Saturday (Aug. 28) to raise money and awareness for women and children affected by domestic abuse.
With the help of sponsors, Cruise Cochrane, Cochrane GM and donations from registrants, the second annual charity cruise raised nearly $8,000 for Big Hill Haven women’s emergency shelter before drivers left the GM parking lot around 12:30 p.m.
Last year’s inaugural event raised over $6,000 for the non-profit. Tara McFadden, fund development and public relations officer for Big Hill Haven mentioned that this year’s fundraising goal was to raise $15,000 but the count will continue until the end of the week.
“It’s a tough year for a lot of people,” McFadden said. “Every dollar makes a difference helping women who are living with or leaving domestic violence to lead empowered lives.”
With the weather in its favour the Cruz-4-Her set its sights on Kananaskis with a couple pit stops and photo ops along the way. Cruise Cochrane organizer Jim Messner laid out plans for the trip and set the destination for Highwood Junction where they flipped around hoping for a to return to Cochrane by 5 p.m.
Messner said the event could not have been a success without each person who stepped forward to help the cause.
“I want to thank each and every person that’s here today because we’re all cogs in a big wheel and without one of you we’d be skipping,” he said. “Each one of you is very important to this cause and very important to Cruise Cochrane and Big Hill Haven.”
The non-profit society provides programming, outreach services and emergency housing for a population of more than 50,000, spanning across Cochrane, Bragg Creek, Morley, Redwood Meadows, Springbank and Ghost Village. Big Hill Haven Board Chair Valerie Gilmore broke down some of the cost allocations of the society while speaking at the event.
“One hundred dollars provides the cost of one night in our emergency shelter, $1,000 provides the cost of 14 hours of community outreach support, and $2,000 provides the cost per month of shelter,” she said.
“Together we have succeeded in raising awareness for domestic violence issues and working together to empower women and their families to live free of domestic violence. Thank you again to Cochrane GM, Cruise Cochrane, and to all of our supporters, we have made a difference today.”
In their 2020/2021 annual report a message from Gilmore cites their services seeing a spike in demand during the pandemic and contact with clients increased 141 per cent since the beginning of their fiscal year last August.
Despite some setbacks from the pandemic, the same year saw the opening of the shelter’s first emergency shelter space, The Haven, in addition to creating another frontline position to meet demands of the community.
