Christine Whelan FEO, August 3, 2023, VOL. 4 ISSUE 25 

Local Resident Pushes Herself To Her Limit To Raise Money and Awareness

In November, local-born and raised, Dawn Kendrick, a Royal LePage NRC Realty sales representative, 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.

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.

Dawn was raised in Crystal Beach and has made her home in Ridgeway. With her office in downtown Ridgeway, she is the only participant involved in the challenge from the Greater Fort Erie area. There are two others from the Niagara Region — Carlie Smith from Port Colborne and Michael Somner from St. Catharines.

Carlie and Dawn’s funds will be going to Birchway Niagara (Women’s Place South Niagara and Nova House consolidated) and Michael’s will be going to Gillian’s Place.

Where It Began For Dawn

In 2017, Dawn was introduced to the Royal LePage Corporate Shelter Foundation. “Once I found out the funds raised were going towards women’s shelters, I signed up immediately.”

The foundation’s main fundraiser runs every other year. “What we do is, we trek 100 kilometres, up mountains and beyond. This is my third trek coming up this November.”

Before Kendrick started, the team’s first challenge, in 2015, was to Machu Picchu. Then she joined in.

“I did Iceland. I did the Sahara Desert. And then during COVID, they went to BC. I didn’t go to that one. Now this one, the fifth, is in Ecuador.”

Dawn talked about her trek in Iceland in 2017. “It was hard. It was amazing. I did almost fall off a cliff.” I watched her in wonderment as she laughed.

Moving on, “We train. Obviously, we have to because we’re walking 100 kilometres straight up the mountains. It’s not a walk in the park.” Again, “It’s very hard.”

Their goal is to raise over a million dollars this year. “We’re already way past half a million dollars.”

Why this challenge?

“We do this trek to see how hard it is.”

She shared a story about when she and her group were in the Sahara, “A couple of the women were having trouble getting up the hill. They wanted to give up. But when they got to the top, I looked at them and said, ‘Now think about those women in the shelters. How did they end up there? Think about the struggles that they go through. And then, think about when they make it to the shelter. That’s what we’re here for. We need to struggle. And we need to feel that struggle. We need to feel the pain. We need to be scared.'”

Experiencing the struggle creates empathy. Dawn returned to her story about her trek in Iceland, where she thought she was going over the cliff. She had been told that if anyone goes over, that was it for them. Her experience, because it included the thought that she was about to die, created a level of post-traumatic stress for her. This now helps her to empathize with survivors of domestic violence who experience post-traumatic stress.

Kendrick says that’s what gets the team to the next step. “We just put one foot in front of the other. There are times when we think, ‘Can I carry on?’

“I just sit back and I think of my mom. And I think, ya, I can.” She added, “That’s what it’s all about. Even if it’s one person we can help. If there is just one person we can help, it’s worth it.”

How It works

Dawn explained the fundraiser. A participant has to be a Royal LePage agent to be eligible to sign up. It’s offered all across Canada. Any interested agent has to apply to go.

“The first year I went, they only chose 90 people. Then it got so large, now they’ve got four groups of 30, so there’s 120 of us going.

“Because everybody talks about it after the trips, it’s become so popular. I think this year they had over 300 applicants. So, it’s not even a guaranteed spot just by applying. We had to get our applications in early.”

They are looking for pledges. “We all have to raise $6,000. Obviously, everyone tries to raise more but that is the minimum. The money that we raise stays in Niagara.”

The participants pay for their trip out of their own pockets. “It’s quite costly to go. So, we have to first prove we are successful enough to be able to pay for all the expenses involved.” This includes everything from flight, accommodation, boots, poles, and rain gear, to backpacks.

“Anybody who goes on these treks, it’s near and dear to their hearts. Everybody has their own story to tell.” Dawn says it’s listening to people and seeing how they rose above and overcame because of a women’s shelter that makes her keep going.

Since this is every other year, on the off years, they are training and saving.

Once an event is completed, the participants continue to stay in shape, working towards the next trek. “We’re going in November. This is when we really start training. We’re out every day. We’re out walking, building strength.”

There’s an extra challenge for this coming trek. “And the breathing is going to be a huge issue in Ecuador. We have to make sure that we are conditioned for that elevation.”

She talked about her trip to Machu Picchu last May, “And I found out about altitude.” With a laugh, “It can play tricks on your body and your mind. So, at least I know what I’m up against when I get to Ecuador now.”

Dawn’s Goal: Awareness

My goal is to bring awareness to the struggle and to what help there is out there. Because a lot of people don’t know women’s shelters exist,” she said with surprise. “So, it’s about bringing awareness. For me, that’s why we do what we do. It’s not for us.”

Then Dawn added, “The one thing that we gain from this is, our hearts get bigger.”

In between the bi-annual treks, among the training and saving, Dawn and her colleagues continue to raise money.

“There’s always fundraising going on. We donate all year long. I have signed up for the program where, for every home that I sell, a portion of my cheque is sent to a women’s shelter.”

The Shelters and Survivors

The struggle to raise money is connected to the awareness of the shelter’s existence. This is why Dawn feels what she is doing is very important.

She commented that the Niagara Region was an area where domestic violence was socially acceptable and therefore was kept quiet because it was normalized. Some people don’t realize what they themselves have been through.

Referring to Kendrick’s experience in Iceland when she almost fell to her death, “I needed to talk about it. At first, when I did, I would cry. Eventually, I would start to feel better as I spoke about it. That’s what these women who end up in the shelters need to do, talk about their experiences. As they talk, it gets easier to deal with it all. And it’s ok to talk about it.”

She added, “Hiding in a corner is not helping them, and it’s not helping their children.”

Birchway Niagara, located at 8903 McLeod Rd, Niagara Falls serves Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, Welland, Wainfleet, Port Colborne, Pelham, and surrounding areas. You can find out more, reach out for help or donate by going to the shelter’s website: birchway.ca

Gillian’s Place, located at 15 Gibson Place, St. Catharines serving St. Catharines and surrounding areas, has a list of services that can be reviewed on their website at gilliansplace.com

“After COVID, there was a waiting list. There’s still a waiting list.”

Dawn provided me with a list of statistics and information points. The points speak for themselves. These are just a few:

• Half of all women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16.
• 362,000 Canadian children are exposed to domestic violence each year.
• The most dangerous time for a woman is when she leaves her abusive partner. Therefore, shelters are critical to the safety and well-being of women and children fleeing domestic violence.

“This is no longer normalized. This needs to be known.” And this is Dawn Kendrick’s goal.

“The simplest way to donate to the challenge is to pop into my office at Royal LePage NRC Realty, 318 Ridge Road N, downtown Ridgeway.” Any donation over $20 gets a tax receipt.

For more about the foundation, go to royallepage.ca/shelter. To find Dawn’s page, click on the tab, ‘Find an Agent’, then search Dawn’s name.