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Dozens of Orangeville men about to walk ‘in HER shoes’

June 9, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Pickford

For the third straight year, a collection of local men will see whether they have what it takes to Walk in HER Shoes as the MENtors group and Family Transition Place prepare to host FTP’s biggest summer fundraiser.

Since its launch back in 2015, the Walk in HER Shoes event has raised close to $10,000 for FTP. This year, event organizers are ready to do it all again with a target of $5,000 firmly in their sites. Speaking to the Citizen last week, Stacey Tarrant, FTP’s manager of development and community relations, said she was looking forward to what she believes will be a “fun and educational” event.

“This is our third year of hosting this event now alongside our MENtors group and we’ve really noticed how much the event has grown and become more popular since its launch,” Ms. Tarrant said. “We expect to have 50 people involved this year, which is fantastic. The more people we can inspire to come out and get involved the better, not just from a fundraising perspective, but from an educational stand point also.”

Taking place on June 17th, participants will gather at Town Hall all decked out in bright pink high heels before making their way up Broadway. They will stop at First St. to cross the road and will then test themselves to the extreme as they attempt to walk in their shoes downhill, eventually completing their trek when they return to Town Hall. Ms. Tarrant noted there would be three stops along the way, at Black Wolf Smokehouse, H&R Block and Royal Bank of Canada, where a representative from MENtors, FTP’s Executive Director Norah Kennedy and a survivor of women’s abuse will speak.

Family Transition Place has been providing critical services to women and their children who have experienced abuse and unhealthy relationships in the region for over 30 years. Inside FTP’s doors, women find a warm and welcoming place where their safety and well-being is the most important thing in the world, according to the organization’s website. Its shelter and services are available all year around for those in need.

MENtors is a subsidiary of FTP launched by men who are committed to helping end the cycle of violence against women, as well as building healthy relationships within the community.

“MENtors is a volunteer group made up of fantastic individuals from across our community. Their mandate is, like ours, to help end violence against women. They take a man’s pledge to step up and help wherever and whenever they can,” Ms. Tarrant said. “They’ve been working with us for the past few years and they’ve been incredible with the things they’ve brought to Family Transition Place. Their focus is primarily on awareness and helping to educate other men and challenge certain attitudes and behaviours that could help perpetuate violence against women.”

With $4,450 raised as of  Wednesday, the group is well on its way to reaching its fundraising target. All of the proceeds from this year’s event will go towards funding FTP’s Youth Education Program.

“We’ll be going into all of our area schools and teaching the students about what healthy relationships are all about, so that we can try and create a future generation that is healthy, strong and violence free,” Ms. Tarrant said.

The event kicks off at 10 a.m. on June 17. Registration is $20 for men and $10 for youth under the age of 18. For more information, visit mentorswalk2017.kintera.org.

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