Canadian Order of Royal Purple, Victoria Brain Injury Society and B.C. Brain Injury Association delegates held a fundraiser at the Pendray Tea House in Victoria to support survivors of domestic violence who sustained brain injuries.
On Saturday, Oct 19, the three non-profits saw dozens of attendees at the Purple Thursday Silent Afternoon Tea & Silent Auction, in an effort to raise awareness for "such a critical cause".
"The statistics say one in three women in Canada will have encountered intimate partner violence and of all those, one in eight will have had a concussion. So, if you understand that statistic, that one in eight is the same statistic as the occurrence of breast cancer," said Sandi Lougheed, a Royal Purple representative from Saskatchewan.
According to Lougheed, seven thousand women and children will suffer a concussion from domestic violence for every hockey player that ends up concussed.
"This is much more silent in terms of recognizing what's happening health-wise to the the women population. The statistic is not a lot different for kids or men either. It's a terrible statistic, and it's a statistic we need to turn around," said Lougheed.
The Royal Purple, a Canada-wide volunteer organization, started the Purple Thursday project three years ago. The first year they managed to raise money to deliver 1,000 care bags to shelters across Canada and this past year they managed to deliver 5,000 care bags.
"Now we have organizations and companies such as Pendray who understand the issue and want to make a difference in that issue and this trend that is happening all across Canada," she said. "But hey, it's only been three short years that we started into this awareness and prevention campaign."
The team managed to raise almost $3,330 in donations from the afternoon tea sales with over 110 attendees.
