R+T Park supports Sexual Assault Support Centre with $12,500 donation

With 168 people waiting for support, the donation will help the Sexual Assault Support Centre grow capacity in their Counselling program, offering survivors the timely care they need.

Research shows cases of sexual violence increase during times of natural disasters, such as pandemics. Numerous reports since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted domestic and sexual violence, particularly against women, as a second pandemic. One that isn’t being talked about enough.

“In the post-#MeToo era, and with the increased challenge of a global pandemic, we’ve been flooded with calls for support. The demand for our services has exploded,” says Sara Casselman, Executive Director of the organization. “Five years ago, 40 survivors on our waitlist was a crisis; today we have 168. It’s our new normal. As a community based Sexual Assault Support Centre, SASC relies on the community’s generosity to live out its motto to survivors: You are not alone.”

R+T Park is pleased to announce that $12,500 from the David Johnston R+T Park Community Impact Fund has been donated to the Sexual Assault Support Centre to help them continue to provide support and care for survivors of sexual violence.

“I am thrilled that the R+T Park Community Impact Committee chose to support SASC with this donation to help them continue the important and necessary work their doing in the community.” says Mike Pereira, Manager of the David Johnston Research + Technology Park. “The past 18 months have put incredible strain on people. The shift to remote work, increased social isolation, and economic uncertainty have left many vulnerable and without a safe place – the numbers from SASC and Women’s Crisis Services are showing this. Supporting their work is vital to supporting our community as a whole.”

For the second year in a row due to COVID-19 restrictions, SASC was forced cancel the annual gala, their biggest fundraising event of the year, creating a larger gap in funding at a time when their services are needed more than ever.

Donate to SASC Today

This year they hosted a Virtual Halloween Fun Run to raise funds for the organization. While it was a great success, the event fell short of its fundraising goal, making the support from R+T Park and others in the community even more important as they look to support the 168 people on the waitlist for counselling.

About the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region

For 32 years, the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASC) has wrapped survivors of sexual violence in community care. From counselling, court support, practical assistance, public education, advocacy work, and more – SASC walks beside survivors through their entire healing journey. Services are free and come without time limits. SASC’s motto to survivors is: “You are not alone.”

About the R+T Park Community Impact Fund

The David Johnston R+T Park Community Impact Fund began in 2006 and is housed at the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation. Over the past 15 years the tenants and friends of R+T Park have raised more than $300,000, creating a sustainable, ongoing investment in local charities. Raising money for the fund and disbursing the annual grants is overseen by a dedicated group of volunteers from R+T Park who make up the R+T Park Community Impact Committee:

• Rose Greensides, Social Venture Partners
• Greg Hanmer, Hanmer Law
• Nathan Moore, Recess Guardians
• Patricia Rintjema Miller Thomson
• Olivia Rogalla, Accelerator Centre
• Corry Sabourin, EY