In November 2023, local Royal LePage in the Comox Valley sales representative Val Wright will be departing with a group of colleagues to trek at high altitude in Ecuador to show their support for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.
This group of ardent hikers – four groups totaling 120 Royal LePage professionals - will trek towards the base of one of the world’s highest active volcanoes (nearly 4,000 metres above sea level) over five days, crossing difficult terrain in unpredictable alpine conditions. They will sleep in tents and go without indoor plumbing, electricity, and cell service to raise funds for Canadian women’s shelters and programs to help end family violence.
The Ecuador Challenge for Shelter is the fifth edition of the hugely popular ‘Challenge for Shelter’ trekking series in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. These events encourage Royal LePage agents from across Canada to raise funds and train for a physically demanding adventure travel experience. Royal LePage trekkers have previously hiked in Peru (2015), Iceland (2017), Morocco (2019), and the Canadian Purcell Mountains (2021), raising more than$3 million combined for the real estate company’s corporate charity.
Wright has set a goal to raise $15,000, which will be donated to the Comox Valley Transition Society in Courtenay. A portion of funds raised will also support domestic violence prevention programs across Canada, including those focused on youth, to help break the cycle of family violence.
Wright is participating in this event because,
• Half of all women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16.
• 67 per cent of Canadians personally know a woman who has been abused.
• On average, every six days a woman in Canada is killed by her current or former intimate partner.
• 362,000 Canadian children are exposed to domestic violence each year.
• Shelters are critical to the safety and well-being of women and children fleeing domestic violence; the most dangerous time for a woman is when she leaves her abusive partner.
To join Wright in making it easier for women and children to walk safely and bravely away from violence and gain hope for a future without abuse, please visit her online fundraising page bit.ly/3DTDhQ9
About Royal LePage Shelter Foundation
Founded 25 years ago in 1998, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation has grown to become Canada’s largest public foundation dedicated exclusively to supporting women’s shelters and ending violence against women and children. Through agent commission donations and the fundraising activities of the Royal LePage network, over $40 million has been raised to help provide a safe haven and new beginnings to more than 50,000 women and children each year. For more information, visit royallepage.ca/shelter