Philanthropy Files: Avenues for Hope Campaign

Laura Honn
Philanthropy Manager

December brings the holiday season and for the WCA, it also marks the start of this year’s Avenues for Hope Campaign on December 10. Avenues for Hope sheds a spotlight on homelessness in Idaho. Our shelters serve many women and children who would otherwise be facing homelessness. We provide safe shelter to women and children who are fleeing situations of domestic abuse that posed a significant threat of lethality. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of this year, we have had 16 emergency intakes to our shelters. In the whole of 2019, we had 4. This is a significant increase as the pandemic continues to allow incidents of domestic abuse to flourish. Home is not safe for everyone.

Domestic abuse is the number one cause of homelessness among women. In 2019, 40 % of homeless families in Ada County were fleeing domestic violence and 70% had experienced domestic violence in the past. Last year, our shelters provided 11,132 safe bed nights for 182 women and children staying in our shelters.

The Avenues for Hope campaign provides not only the opportunity for important outreach but also the opportunity for us to raise vital funds to preserve our safe shelter services. Whilst gifts are welcome throughout the campaign, which runs from December 10—December 31, we are hoping to double the impact that your gift will have by focusing our efforts on three important milestones. They include:

• Gaining 12 unique donations during the weekend of December 18—December 20.
• Securing donations from supporters located in twelve different states.
• Gaining a significant amount of donations between 8 am—12 pm on December 10, the opening day of the campaign.

If we achieve our goals during these milestones, we will earn a monetary award, which will further increase the impact of your donation. Look out for our social media posts throughout the campaign to learn more!

You can view our campaign page here. We are always grateful for your support and we are especially grateful this year, during a holiday season that is a challenging time for many.

Happy Holidays to you and your family.