Event 2021 - TheDinnerParty

The "UN" Dinner Party 2021

Thank You!

Our Dinner Party event was an incredible success, raising more than $50,000 for SAVIS & CW4WAfghan.

In a year when charities need our help more than ever, this virtual event was able to rally guests, sponsors and supporters to come together for such an important cause.

SAVIS of Halton

On June 10, 2021, the Women of Halton Action movement was thrilled to present SAVIS of Halton with a cheque for $25,525. These funds were raised by donations and sponsors of the “UN” Dinner Party 2020. Read about how this donation will have an immediate and direct impact on our community.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting stay at home orders, quarantine measures, and social distancing protocols have been felt by the staff and clients of SAVIS of Halton quite deeply. As an organization we have endured many crises, organizational changes, and difficulties into 2021.

In March 2020 we were forced to close our office doors and shift all of our counselling to a virtual format, including group counselling. We have since opened our doors to clients for brief periods of time, but have had to return to virtual counselling subsequently due to public health recommendations.

“The incredible funds of $25,000 we have received from the “Un” Dinner Party this year, will support our direct service need for survivors. Our community came together for this years IWD “un” Dinner Party and shows our survivors that the community supports and believes them.

With the lack of stability, challenges associated with technology, and lack of social supports due to isolation and social distancing measures, SAVIS has seen an increase of demand for services across all facets of the organization, including individual counselling, public education, the crisis line, and group counselling.

Thank you for connecting survivors to the healing they deserve.”

SAVIS of Halton

CW4W Afghan

This International charity supports Women and Girls in their quest for education. On June 10, 2021, the WHAM Committee members presented a cheque for $25,525 to assist in offering programs to help literacy and access to education. Read about what this donation means.

CW4WAfghan is grateful for the support generated through donations to the (un) Dinner Party 2021. Your generous contributions of $25,500 will make a meaningful difference to so many women and girls in Afghanistan, at a time when they are facing both an uncertain peace process and the devastating impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic, which has exacerbated levels poverty, food insecurity, and genderbased violence, as well as creating additional barriers for girls in accessing education.

However, thanks to supporters like you, we have been able to continue our work amidst the pandemic, besides taking on additional emergency actions to support Afghan women and girls during this time. Our Afghanistan Reads! Community Literacy classes, and our Darakht-e Danesh Online Library (DDL) are areas where your support is making a difference on the ground.

Over the past year, CW4WAfghan has been able to develop and test programming adaptive to pandemic conditions for our Community Literacy classes. At the start of the pandemic, we put all literacy classes on hold; however, with social distancing and hygiene measures in place and additional training for teachers to ensure safe classroom settings, we have been able to resume classes. All students and teachers have been provided with personal protective equipment and additional health and safety training. These classes now include learning on virus prevention, and, as a means to reduce isolation and therefore risk of violence for many women, are empowering and life-saving interventions. With your help, our Afghanistan Reads! program is meeting the educational, social, and psychological needs of students.

Our Darakht-e Danesh Online Library has been an integral part of the Afghan Ministry of Education’s pandemic response. With the impact of COVID-19 and school closures, education has been changed forever. The pandemic resulted in over 1.2 billion children out of classrooms worldwide. Education has changed dramatically with an increase in e-learning remotely or through digital platforms. DDL is poised to respond to the significant rise in demand for online learning platforms. During the pandemic, CW4WAfghan has created video lessons for Grade 7 students for the Ministry of Education so they can continue to learn during school closures. We added a significant number of resources to the DDL platform for teachers to upgrade their skills and prepare lessons while classrooms remained closed, besides adding COVID-19 information in Afghan languages. Our average monthly views are up to 260,475, demonstrating the high demand and use of online learning resources among Afghans.

For an idea of how far your donations go, here is an itemized list of some indicative program costs for both Afghanistan Reads! And Darakht-e Danesh.

DDL Resources: $2,000 for 2 translations to one language in an existing subject collection or $2,000 for translation, content editing and development of 40 storybook titles added to DDL ($50/book)

DDL internet connection: $2,000 for installation of one internet connection; $3,000 for 1 MB of internet for 12 months. (Refer to the Deployment section of the budget).

AR! Library: $1,500 for one community library or $2,000 to support 4 students in the AR! Community Literacy Program

The "UN" Dinner Party

Presented by Women of Halton Action Movement celebrating International Women’s Day

While International Women’s Day has passed this year, be inspired any day by viewing recordings of our online event featuring:

Dr. Janet Morrison, President and Vice Chancellor of Sheridan College,

Perdita Felicien, Olympian and World Champion Hurdler, and

Juno award winning musician, Sarah Blackwood from Walk off the Earth.

VIEW NOW

As well, view our Hall of Honour.

It is comprised of remarkable women who are nominated by those who purchase a “ticket” for $65.

Proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships go directly to our charities.

SAVIS and CW4WAfghan

You can still donate! Each donation will receive a tax receipt for the full amount given.

Thank you to the dedicated committee members, our community partners,

and the wonderful guests who have supported our live event year after year.

We could not do this without you!

Honour a Woman

Your donation entitles you to submit the name of a woman you wish to honour. Click the icon to view.

Be a Sponsor

Show your support of this important event by becoming a sponsor starting at just $500. Complete the form below and email it to us at info@thedinnerpartyiwd.ca