Shoebox Project Niagara provides hope to women in need

Shoebox Project Niagara Co-ordinator Alison Earl is asking residents to fill boxes with personal items for women in need. The boxes can be dropped off at several local businesses and will be distributed to the Women's Place of South Niagara and Gillian's Place. Sarah Ferguson/Fort Erie Times/QMI Agency Niagara
(Photo: formal dresses for women) A few luxuries such as makeup, soap, or scented lotions can help a woman feel special during a difficult time in her life.
As the holiday season approaches, Crystal Beach resident Alison Earl would like to brighten the spirits of women in need. For the second year, Earl is organizing a collection of shoeboxes filled with a variety of items including gloves, hats, scarves, chocolate, hair brushes and phone cards.
The fundraiser is part of the Shoebox Project, a non-profit initiative that collects small gifts and gives them to women living in shelters. The boxes collected by Earl will be distributed to Women’s Place of South Niagara in Welland and Gillian’s Place in St. Catharines.
“Last year, the support from the community was amazing. I needed about 50 shoe boxes and I ended up with 78 boxes.”
Because the response from the community was so great last year, “It meant that the outreach programs offered by the shelters were given shoeboxes to give to women in need outside of the shelter.”
“This year, I am hoping to have enough boxes so I am able to donate some to the YMCA,” Earl said.
The Niagara Shoebox Project appears to be “resonating with people.”
“People really like it, women like it. It’s fun to shop for someone else at Christmas and it’s not a huge cost but it does have a big impact on the community,” Earl said.
The Shoebox Project for Shelters began in 2011 when Caroline, Jessica, Vanessa and Katy Mulroney made it their mission to collect and distribute gifts packaged in shoeboxes to women in shelters across Canada to raise awareness about the risks women and face that can lead to homelessness.
The project delivered about $500,000 worth of gifts to 10,000 women at about 200 emergency and transitional shelters in 26 communities across Canada.
Earl is hoping members of the community will fill a shoebox with at least $50 word of items. If there is any question about what to fill a box with, Earl recommends to “think about all of the things you as a woman have touched in the last 72 hours.”
Donations of items will be collected until Dec. 14 and the items will be distributed to the shelters on Dec. 19.
Drop off locations:
Yoga Joy, 395 Derby Rd., Crystal Beach
Boggio and Edwards Pharmacy, 307 Ridge Rd., Ridgeway
F8 Hair Salon, 31 Jarvis St., Fort Erie
Dr. Ordinario, 1138 Garrison Rd., Fort Erie.
Boggio Pharmacy, 200 Catharine St., Port Colborne
Boggio and MacKinnon Pharmacy, 6680 Drummond Rd., Niagara Falls

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