We at Team Broady understand that a house is only a home if the people who live there feel safe. That is why, since its founding in 1998, we have been fierce advocates for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, which has proudly grown to become the largest public foundation in Canada dedicated exclusively to funding women’s shelters and domestic violence prevention.

The past year has been especially heart-breaking and traumatic, as there have been many disturbing cases happening very close to home. We have seen an unusually high number of women and their children injured or killed as a result of violence by their intimate partners. 

This past June, a woman was shot and killed by her husband in Mont-Tremblant. 

In July, a woman and her 12-year-old daughter were found murdered in their home in Lachine. The husband and father was later found dead from an apparent suicide-drowning in the Lachine Canal.

In August, a Pierrefonds woman was killed near Drummondville, and her husband is now facing charges of first-degree murder. She left behind two little boys aged 4 and 6. 

The same month, a man in Notre-Dame-des-Prairies murdered his two 3-year-old boys before taking his own life. He had been arrested for harassing his ex-wife, the mother of the children, just days before the incident.

Despite all of these unspeakable tragedies, there is still hope. Slowly but surely, we are collectively taking steps to put an end to domestic violence in this country. 

The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation has raised $41 million to-date and currently supports 200 local women’s shelters and national partners. Thousands of brokers from coast-to-coast, including Team Broady, donate a portion of their commissions to the cause, and host all kinds of local fundraising events. We also volunteer and provide in-kind goods to benefit the women and children residing in our local shelters. Every dollar raised goes directly to helping the more than 50,000 women and children who are served each year by the shelters and support programs that the Shelter Foundation funds.

There is a podcast started in 2020 by Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, Ontario, titled, “She Is Your Neighbour,” which explores and discusses the harsh realities and complexities of domestic abuse. The message the storytelling series promotes is that you never know who might be suffering in silence, and how close to you they might actually be. The series stresses the fact that we all have a role to play in helping put an end to femicide and domestic violence. We couldn’t agree more with this message, and this is why we continue to advocate for this cause.

Back in 2015, Royal LePage partnered with Charity Challenge and started a new initiative known as the “Charity Challenge for Shelter.” The first Challenge was a five-day trek to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Machu Picchu in Peru, which Libby completed at the age of 70! Mark then embarked on the following two Charity Challenges, to Iceland and the Sahara Desert in Morocco. This year, it is Catherine’s turn to tackle the Challenge.

In exactly 10 days from now, Catherine will fly to Quito, Ecuador, in the Andes Mountains in South America. From there, she will be joining 120 other Royal LePage realtors from across Canada. Divided into 4 groups, they will begin their journey to the base of Mt. Cotopaxi, one of the largest active volcanoes in the world. 

This spectacular high-altitude trek is not for the faint-hearted, as it is physically demanding and culminates at 3,750 metres (12,303 ft) above sea level.

The Challenge begins in Ecuador’s capital, Quito, giving the group time to acclimatize to their surroundings before venturing off on the challenge of a lifetime. This action-packed itinerary will take them through the countryside, past local communities and across numerous volcanoes. The ultimate destination is Tambopaxi, the mountain lodge on the majestic Mt. Cotopaxi plateau.

So far, Catherine has reached 96% of her fundraising goal of $7,500. If you would like to help her attain or surpass this total, please consider donating by clicking this link: tinyurl.com/CatherineTrek 

Remember, your donation can provide hope, security, and a brighter future for women and children who need it most. Every contribution counts!