La Maison Le Prélude in Laval is one of the twelve finalist charities of the fifth edition of iA Financial Group’s great philanthropic Contest. The foundation has the chance to win a large donation of $ 100,000 to support a project related to the well-being and health of children 0 to 18 years old.
The children of abused mothers experience a variety of issues and suffer the consequences. With a donation of $100,000, Maison Le Prélude wants to create a companion guide, in several languages, in order to promote the safety of these children and reduce the impacts of domestic violence on them.
The public has until November 30th to vote, at donations-contest.ia.ca/community, for the charities and projects they consider the most meritorious. The winners will be unveiled during the week of December 6th.
Front-line response
Le Prélude offers essential front-line services in the Laval community, in both French and English. They also accommodate women speaking other languages. The assistance program also assists hearing-impaired women. Under the seal of confidentiality, la Maison offers women and their children, who are victims of domestic violence, safe shelter, support and accompaniment services, whether the violence is psychological, verbal, relational, economic, physical, or sexual.
They have a total capacity of 18 people, women aged 18 and over, with or without children, for short-term stays (under 3 months). To meet these needs, La Maison Le Prélude offers its services for free, 24/7 through phone support, safe shelter, external services by appointment, and second-step family apartments (low-cost confidential housing for women with children who have stayed in a shelter).
Marie-Eve Valade, clinic supervisor (intervention), told TLN that La Maison Le Prélude would like to create a multi-lingual guide to help women (victims) and their children to find concrete solutions to help them move on. They also work with the “youth sector” for unemployed individuals who are experiencing serious difficulty.
“It’s the first time that La Maison Le Prélude participates in this contest,” stated Marie-Eve. “We’re hoping for assistance from the community with their votes. Please show your support, with your vote, as soon as you can, at donations-contest.ia.ca/community, as the contest ends November 30th,” she added, by way of earnest invitation to the people of Laval for their positive involvement in Prélude’s community mission.
iA Financial Group steps in
More determined than ever to support Canadian communities, iA Financial Group kicked off the fifth edition of its major philanthropic contest. From September 15 to October 15, 2021, charities whose mission includes, among other things, supporting the health and welfare of children (0 to 18 years of age) were invited to answer the question, “What would you do with a donation of $100,000?”
A total of $500,000 in donations will be shared by charities that make the most inspiring submissions. The contest is intended for Canadian charities that aim to help children directly, that have an assistance to children facet of their mission, or that have a project to help children.
“As a father of four, the cause we chose to support this year is near and dear to my heart. Children are our future and they too have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. iA Financial Group is very proud to help Canadian charities that contribute in various and amazing ways to the welfare of the young people in our society,” stated Denis Ricard, President and CEO of iA Financial Group.
New this year, the charities that enter the contest will be grouped into four major regions: (Western Canada, Ontario, Québec, and the North/Atlantic Canada) in order to guarantee an even fairer distribution of donations across the country.
Cast your ballot
At the end of the contest period ending October 15, a jury picked three projects from each region that was presented to the public on November 4. The public has until November 30, 2021 to vote at donations-contest.ia.ca/ community, for the most inspiring submissions. The winners will be unveiled during the week of December 6th.
A major donation of $100,000 will be made to the charity in each region that receives the most votes. The remaining finalists will each receive a donation of $10,000. iA Financial Group’s 7,500 employees will also vote on their favourite charities, which will each receive a special donation of $20,000.
The first edition of the contest was held in celebration of iA Financial Group’s 125th anniversary in 2017. Since then, the company has held an annual contest, with a new theme every year, to ensure the company helps as many charities as possible. For the 2020 contest, iA Financial Group donated a total of $400,000 to charities across the country working in the health, education and social services sectors.
