Nearly $8,000 raised for the Kelowna Women’s Shelter through the Castanet and Premier Jewellery and Loans diamond earring auction

Photo: Martin Strasser

Martin Strasser of Premier Jewellery and Loans with the cheque for the Kelowna Women's Shelter

It’s a record donation at a time when it’s sorely needed.

The Kelowna Women’s Shelter has been dealing with a spike in demand for its services during the pandemic.

Thanks to the generosity of the winning bidder, $7,900 has been raised through the annual Castanet and Premier Jewellery and Loans diamond auction.

That’s the largest donation in the 6-year history of the auction.

Premier manager Martin Strasser offered up a pair of diamond earrings with an appraised value of $10,700, and bidding started at $500.

“It’s awesome to have community leaders such as Martin (Strasser), willing to lend a helping hand,” said Graham Kerr, Development Coordinator, Kelowna Women’s Shelter.

“Donations around this time of year are extremely important just because in January we really see an increase in the numbers of women and children needing access to our shelter, our programs, our services. So, having the additional income to have additional shifts for some of our part-time counsellors or part-time outreach workers, it’s huge.”

So why did Strasser decide to support the women’s shelter?

“We were looking for something that was maybe under-represented and resonated with our clientele. It kind of got presented to us once about the women’s shelter and it just kind of instantly clicked.”

“Most of us are blessed with a level of stability in our lives and the fact that we can go home and feel safe and be surrounded by trusted people. I imagined what that would be like if that wasn’t true,” explained Strasser.

Kerr said a significant portion of the $7,900 donation will go towards outreach programs. COVID-19 has created barriers to accessing the shelter’s services. Outreach workers are able to meet with women in the community, at their convenience and location, to provide advice on ways to get out of their situation.

There has been a spike in reported domestic violence incidents during the pandemic, especially when stay-at-home orders were in effect.

“You would have battered women who were stuck in their homes with their abuser. That is just an absolute recipe for disaster,” said Kerr.

The women’s shelter became even more important and saw a sharp increase in people needing their help. That posed a significant challenge.

They had to reach out to local hotels to accommodate the growing need, at the same time those hotel rooms were also in demand to house evacuees from wildfires and floods.

You can help the Kelowna Women’s Shelter by making a donation of high demand items by contacting Kerr at 778-478-7774 x. 307 or [email protected]

You can also volunteer at the shelter or through other support programs. Kerr adds they will need more volunteers when the new shelter in West Kelowna opens in the fall of this year.