Sharon Foord was inspired to give back to the women in her community for Giving Tuesday on November 30th, 2021 thanks to the generosity of others that helped her to create the life she wanted to provide to her family. As a young mother in the early 2000s attending nursing school at Brock University and living in the co-op housing through Niagara Peninsula Homes (NPH), Sharon wanted the opportunity to be a good role model for her children. Thanks to co-op housing, she was able to afford to put her children through music lessons and pay for her education. With her children now grown up, she has decided to pay it forward and support the women like her in her community through Niagara Women’s Enterprise Centre.
Sharon is inspired by the women who are supported by Niagara Women’s Enterprise Centre, an organization dedicated towards supporting women to upskill and prepare for the workforce. She is driven to ensure that life-long learning and development is available to the women in her community who need it to uplift themselves and their families.
Sharon wanted her impact to be special. She wanted to provide the foundation for a $5000 matching donation to help women in Niagara to receive essential support on their learning, employment and entrepreneurial journeys. “Anyone that cares about supporting women and children’s causes would be interested in becoming a donor. It doesn’t matter if it’s $50, small donations add up,” Sharon explained. “Give what you can to help support women, because we all win in the end.”
With her generous donation matching up to $5,000, Sharon would like to see NWEC continue to grow, inspire, and support women in Niagara. Through her gift, she hopes that NWEC will continue to be able to “help people get to where they need to be and where they want to be, so that they have opportunities to find stable employment, that will help them to afford to raise their families.” She hopes that with her donation, it will help women surpass any barriers they face in life to create a better future for the next generation.
Sharon’s gift on Giving Tuesday will allow women to be able to receive essential support. If you would like to make a gift to be matched up to a total of $5,000, please donate to Niagara Women’s Enterprise Centre through the Canada Helps page on Tuesday November 30th or please email teaganfoord@nphcr.ca for more information. Donation cheques can be mailed to the office at 41 Victoria St., Welland, ON L3B 4L7 in the name of Niagara Peninsula Community Resource Centre, the legal name for Niagara Women's Enterprise Centre, and a charity receipt will be sent to you. Please help Niagara Women’s Enterprise Centre reach their goal of $10,000 to support the women in our community.
Niagara Women’s Enterprise Centre is owned and operated by Niagara Peninsula Homes.
(From Left: Naomie, Andrea, Sharon, and Teagan volunteering at September 2021 Clothing Drive)