Purple Light Nights will be hosting its first ever fundraiser at the Silver Chalice on Saturday, May 14. Purple Lights is a North American non-profit organization founded to help shine a light on domestic violence and provide educational, outreach and other resources to communities. Domestic violence touches the lives of the entire family and has far reaching and often tragic results not just for the victims but also for the community.
October is officially Domestic Violence Awareness month, with the official kick-off being held at Memorial Park on Oct. 1. Last year was very special with a beautiful owl carving that was donated and dedicated to the group and installed in Memorial Park during a First Nations healing ceremony.
The owl is an appropriate and iconic symbol, as owls are known for their acute vision, night or day, which speaks to the need for people to be aware and vigilant about the issue all the time. As the motto says, “Shine A Light on Domestic Violence”, and awareness is the first step to putting an end to the shame and the silence.
Victim Services of Hope was involved with the establishment of this program in Hope in 2009 and is the lead agency that continues to plan and organize the annual event, along with the invaluable support of many other community agencies and volunteers.
The goal is to share information about the resources available to victims of domestic violence as well as educate the entire community about the various forms of ‘violence’ that occur and provide referrals for victims to get the help they need to break the vicious cycle. This could be for emergency shelter, counselling, intervention or help from the police and many other services.
This is the first-ever fundraiser for Purple Light Nights and it is hoped that the event will be well attended and memorable for everyone. There will be two seatings at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The featured special is $15 per person and will include a Burger & Beverage (diner’s choice of a draft beer, coffee, soda or selected beverages.)
There will also be a 50/50 as well as a raffle for two gift baskets (one for ladies and one for men) generously donated by Pharmasave. All proceeds will go directly to Purple Lights in Hope to help expand the 2016 campaign.Tickets are available at Pharmasave, Hope RCMP/Victim Services office and ReadRight Society. For more information, please call 604-860-7770.
A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.