Whether it’s a box of chocolates, a scented candle, or a hand-made card from kindergarten, on Mother’s Day, most of us will give a gift that tells our mothers how much they are loved and appreciated. For women experiencing family violence, often the best they can hope for is a Mother’s Day where they and their children are safe.
They come to Refuge Victoria often with just the clothes on their backs. Any sentimental items they may have kept have been left behind, adding to the heartbreak of their escape. And after what is often years of abuse, they can barely remember ever feeling loved or appreciated.
For women escaping family violence, Mother’s Day is not a happy day; images in the media of happy families only serve to remind them of what their families do not have, and the pain they are enduring.
Your gift this Mother’s Day can change that.
A financial/cash donation to Refuge Victoria this Mother’s Day, however big or small, will help set a family on the road to recovery. It will provide a mother with groceries to sustain herself and her children during their stay in refuge, and clothes to replace the ones they left behind; it will give her access to the professional support needed to start a new life. It will allow Refuge Victoria to provide a safe, clean home for her family.
Throughout the year Refuge Victoria receives generous gifts from organisations and individuals, but this Mother’s Day we’re asking for cash donations, and here’s why.
The needs of individual families are as diverse as the families themselves, and not all donated goods are suitable for every family. Allowing victim survivors to work with us determining what goods and resources will best help themselves and their children is an empowering experience and plays an important part equipping them with the confidence and autonomy required to create a new safer future.
Every dollar donated to Refuge Victoria goes straight to supporting women in refuge. Yet, the greatest gift from your donation to Refuge Victoria this Mother’s Day is one that cannot be seen: it’s the hope that is planted in the mother’s mind and very beginnings of her renewed faith in the kindness of people.
