Residents have the power to help the Howe Sound Women's Centre prove that "Healthy Women Change the World" by voting for a proposal that can earn organizers $25,000.
Centre organizers provide numerous programs to improve the health of women in the community, and their latest effort has captured the Pepsi Refresh Project's attention.
The Pepsi Refresh Project invites communities throughout Canada to submit their ideas and get their supporters to vote for them online. The top two proposals will be awarded a $25,000 grant -the local proposal is currently ranked 22nd out of approximately 60 submissions.
Howe Sound Women's Centre health and wellness liaison Heidi Nielsen said she knew what her proposal would be the minute she saw the grant application.
"Healthy Women Change the World" proposes to hire a practitioner to give massage, shiatsu or reflexology during the centre's working hours, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"Our idea was approved!" said Nielsen. "So now we need to spread the word and get everyone to vote online for the idea. I'm by no means confident we will get the grant, but I have my fingers crossed, and if we can get everyone online and voting it could make a huge difference."
The Women's Centre's goal is to provide affordable health programs by donation, such as yoga, meditation, aromatherapy workshops, drumming, leadership seminars, healthy cooking workshops and many other healing modalities.
"We're all about teaching women about healthy living," said Nielsen.
She said the women's centre is a great cause and crucial organization in Squamish that could use the funding in a positive and beneficial way.
"The women's centre is all about helping and empowering women to do whatever it is they need to be successful," said Nielsen.
"Yoga and meditation at the drop-in women's centre is hugely popular. Thursday there's yoga and on Fridays there's a hot lunch. The idea behind the grant is basically to be able to increase what we're offering."
Voters can choose the "Healthy Women Change the World" proposal and vote once per day until Aug. 1 by providing their email address and creating a profile. Pepsi guarantees voters information will be kept confidential and will not be subject to promotional material.
Some other proposals include building community gardens, running youth led festivals, building playgrounds and recording youth student artists for free. The current leading proposal is to have ultra marathon runner Michel Gouin tour Quebec schools emphasizing the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
The direct link to the Howe Sound Women's Centre proposal is www.refresheverything.ca/healthywomenchangetheworld. For further information, contact Heidi Nielsen at 604-815-3194.
