{"id":23406,"date":"2019-04-04T19:04:16","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T23:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=23406"},"modified":"2019-04-11T20:42:09","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T00:42:09","slug":"realtor-plans-sahara-desert-trek-to-support-local-womens-shelters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/realtor-plans-sahara-desert-trek-to-support-local-womens-shelters\/","title":{"rendered":"Realtor plans Sahara Desert trek to support local women\u2019s shelters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday, women of all\nages gathered at the Aurora Seniors\u2019 Centre to learn a few tips on self\ndefence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self defence is a potent\nskill in anyone\u2019s arsenal, but this session, facilitated by Aurora realtor\nCaroline Baile and instructor Anuj Batra, had a broader purpose: helping to\nmake a lasting positive impact on local women\u2019s shelters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The self defence course\nwas a fundraiser towards Ms. Baile\u2019s upcoming trek through the Sahara Desert to\nsupport the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over 100 Royal LePage\nprofessionals will head to Morocco this November to trek more than 100km over\nfive days, crossing difficult terrain in desert temperatures that dip to almost\nfreezing at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It won\u2019t be easy. They\nwill have to sleep in group tents, forego the luxuries of indoor plumbing,\nelectricity, cell phone service and the comforts of home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a small sacrifice to\nmake for the greater good, says Ms. Baile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sahara Desert\nChallenge for Shelter is a fundraising event for the Royal LePage Shelter\nFoundation, which encourages agents from across the country to raise funds and\ntrain for a gruelling \u2013 physically, mentally and emotionally \u2013 experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe question was, \u2018How\ncan we bring attention to the plight of women and children fleeing with just\nthe clothes on their backs?\u201d said Ms. Baile about the urgent needs of local\nshelters, including Yellow Brick House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nis a cause close to the heart for Ms. Baile, and one she is very\npassionate about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs realtors, helping people find their dream home is our job,\u201d\nshe says. \u201cA home is supposed to be a place of comfort, safely and love. Sadly,\nthis is not the case for everyone in our community. Domestic Violence affects\nwomen and children across the country, regardless of geographics or\ndemographics. Young, old, wealthy or oppressed; sadly, domestic violence is\nseen across the spectrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnlike\nillness which we have no control over, domestic violence is a cause we can\nbring an end to. Together we can make a difference! Every step we take and\nevery dollar raised goes directly towards adding additional shelter beds so\nwomen and children are not turned away in their darkest hour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a fundraising\ngoal of $7,000 with six months left to go, not to mention the additional\nout-of-pocket expenses like flights and gear, Ms. Baile is in the zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is not to say,\nhowever, there is not a small degree of trepidation before she heads out to\nMorocco with her colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the challenges is\nthe physical endurance,\u201d she says. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be difficult walking eight or\nten hours a day in regular temperatures, but when you\u2019re doing it in desert\ntemperatures with the scorching sun during the day and dipping down to freezing\nat night, and trekking in sand where you\u2019re not making the distance or having\nto traverse big mountains, it is a little more challenging. The greatest\nchallenge for me will not be physical, but the emotional and mental aspects of\nthis trek. Long hours thinking about every step I take and why I am doing this:\nto raise funds for those fleeing domestic abuse in our community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am looking forward to\nbeing completely exposed to the elements and the raw emotion it will take.\nThere is preparation for the physical challenges of this trek, but it will be\nthe emotional component of knowing why we are out there that will drive me\nforward every day. To be out there in the middle of nowhere with our thoughts,\nknowing we are making a difference in the lives of those in our community is my\n\u2018why.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, on any given night\nin Canada, nearly 6,000 women and children are forced to stay in emergency\nshelter beds because it is not safe for them to stay at home. At the same time,\nhundreds are turned away each night as the shelters are full. On average, every\nsix days in Canada, a woman is killed by her current or former partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Half of all women in\nCanada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence\nsince the age of 16. 67 per cent of Canadians personally know a woman who has\nbeen abused. 362,000 Canadian children are exposed to domestic violence each\nyear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on\nhow to support Caroline Baile on her November trek through the Sahara, visit\nwww.carolinebaile.com\/fundraising\/<\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, women of all ages gathered at the Aurora Seniors\u2019 Centre to learn a few tips on self defence. But…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/2019-04-04-05.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-65w","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-30 07:03:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}