Event Overview

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge is an annual event, uniting the community with a unique fundraising program. Each year, this Half-Marathon & 5k inspires runners, walkers, families and friends to register and to raise funds for participating charity organizations.

This year’s Vancouver Run and Charity Challenge are taking place in on Sunday, June 23, 2019.

Participants have the opportunity to create impact, fundraising for local charities leading up to the event. Scotiabank covers all of the fees associated with online fundraising, and participating charities receive 100% of fundraised on their behalf.

Each year, the top 3 charities receive a gift of up to $2,500 to celebrate their success and enhance their reach from Scotiabank’s Charity Giving Fund.

WAVAW and the Scotiabank Charity Challenge

WAVAW has been participating in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge since 2013. Each year, our community of participants, donors and community partners help us raise critical funds to keep our support services free-of-charge. In 2018, WAVAW’s community raised over $67,000 to support our services,  the second-largest amount raised of any participating organization in Vancouver. This year, we hope that you will join us in what promises to be another record-breaking event!

You can help us raise $70,000 to support WAVAW’s  Victim Services Program

Impact of Your Support

Funds raised from the 2019 Scotiabank Charity Challenge Campaign will support WAVAW’s Victim Services Program.

WAVAW’S Victim Services team supports cis and trans women, and all trans, nonbinary, and Two-Spirit survivors of sexual assault during hospital, police, and court accompaniments offering emotional support as survivors navigate these systems.

The Victim Services Team also manages our 24-hour Crisis Line.

WAVAW’s Crisis Line operates 24 hours a day, every single day of the year. Our Crisis Line is an essential service that offers immediate emotional support to people of all genders following a sexual assault.

After a sexual assault, survivors can feel like they are out to sea, navigating turbulent and unfamiliar waters. They aren’t able to see beyond the big waves, they don’t know what is coming next, and they don’t know where to guide their ship.

When they reach out to WAVAW for support, often the first voice they hear is that of one of our Victim Service Workers.

Our Victim Service Workers have seen similar waters before. They can assess the immediate risk for the survivor, offer resources and referrals, and guide them through the choppy waters towards a peaceful and stable route. Our Victim Service Workers start survivors off on a path to healing.

No one should have to go through a difficult time alone – by participating in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, you are stepping up to Shift Society by ensuring that our Victim Service Team can continue to provide reassurance to survivors that the storm will pass, and that there is hope for their healing.

Your Participation

An experience of sexualized violence can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. The Scotiabank Charity Challenge is a fun and innovative way to Shift Society Together to build a loud and proud community of support for survivors of sexualized violence.

By choosing to participate you immediately join WAVAW’s community of supporters and will have access to runner events, fundraising prizes, WAVAW swag, and fundraising supports such as e-mail and social media text templates.

You will also be connecting members of your network to a cause you care deeply about by inviting them to step up in support of survivors by donating. By building an active community of support, you will be encouraging more people to join the movement to create a free from gendered violence

Opportunities for Involvement

1. Register to walk and fundraise in support of WAVAW in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge
2. Organize a team of friends or colleagues to walk and fundraise with you! Not only will this will expand our community exponentially, but every year Scotiabank gives a prize of $1,500 to the charity with the largest team of participants! By inviting your friends for a walk in the park, you could fund 30 additional one-to-one counselling sessions for survivors of sexualized violence!
3. Host a fundraising event! You don’t need to register to walk to Host a by donation barbeque, or have a donation jar set up at your work. You can donate the funds you raise directly to WAVAW in support of the Scotiabank Charity Challenge on our website.
4. Make an individual donation. We know not everyone has the time or capacity to solicit donations or sign up to walk and fundraise, and that’s ok! A $25 gift will fund one hour on the Crisis Line, and $50 will support one hour of one-to-one counselling for a survivor of sexualized violence[font_style fontcolor=”black”]A Short Text[/font_style]

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge offers many opportunities for participation. Please do not hesitate to reach out to WAVAW with your ideas for collaboration and partnership.