Rowan House Society
We may not have been awarded the $20,000 grand prize through this year’s Great Canadian Giving Challenge (it was the Sistering organization out of Toronto) however, we are absolutely considering ourselves winners!! In your efforts to help us gain ballots for the contest, you raised $17,395 over the month of June alone! That’s INCREDIBLE!!
Thank you SO MUCH for your support to help rebuild lives and futures through the many programs of Rowan House. We often say that we work for an organization that should not exist, but until we can fully succeed in our work in prevention, we still need to focus on the women and children that find the strength to reach out for help.
Our services and education are needed now more than ever, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, and it is truly because of YOU that we can continue to make that difference!
Message from the Board
We are incredibly blessed with extraordinary support, year on year, from our community of supporters. Through donations, volunteering, hosting fund raising events and more, you enable Rowan House to make our vision real – to be more than just a shelter, and to provide outreach and education to break the cycle of violence in our communities. We thank you for your continued generosity.
We are blessed with an extraordinary team of staff and volunteers, who have continued to work so hard, displaying passion, commitment, and above all – courage in the face of all these challenges. We should congratulate the staff on the praise that AHS inspectors gave Rowan House for our COVID-19 preparations.
In this atmosphere of uncertainty, we would like to recognize those people who are keeping Rowan House going without whom, our mission would be unachievable.
This has been a truly extraordinary year for all of us. The impacts of the economic downturn driven by plummeting oil prices have been felt by all. This, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic has strained us all further. We have had to cancel our 10-year celebration Gala event because of the COVID restrictions – the first time we’ve ever needed to miss our largest fund-raising event.The past 6 years have been a journey of change and growth for the organization. We rebuilt our shelter after the 2013 floods and grew from 10 beds to 24. We made the strategic decision to become more than a shelter, and to focus our efforts on prevention and outreach, even though we receive no funding for that work. We had a change in leadership last year, with our new COO, Timmi Shorr, helping Rowan House grow and adapt.
Perhaps the most exciting development last year was the federal government grant to run our Safe At Home pilot– a 4 year program to allow women and children to stay in their own home, while the abuser is provided with support and counselling in a dedicated house. This is a first in Canada, and we are very excited to be opening this facility and service in Claresholm this summer.
Rowan House has always been a vibrant, caring organization, passionate about protecting and enabling women and children escaping abuse. We are equally passionate about educating and supporting the young people in our schools and community, so that they understand what healthy relationships are, and to recognize warning signs. We are committed to continuing this work.
Thank you again for your support. We couldn’t do what we do without you. Keep supporting and watching us in the coming years – we’re not done yet!
Chris Tulloch
Rowan House Board Chair