Red rose campaign promotes anti-violence

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Red Rose Campaign is back for another year and will be popping up on business reception desks in Strathmore. The campaign runs for the month of November and promotes the prevention of domestic violence amongst families.
“I work for the Community Crisis Society, it’s a women’s shelter. We’re a little different than a women’s shelter, in Canada we’re one of the only shelters that take men,” said Paul Thomas, public educator for the Community Crisis Society.
“We take women and their children (and) men and their children, that is our priority.”
On Oct. 30, some Holy Cross Collegiate (HCC) students had the opportunity to go out and give roses to the business community to raise awareness for those who have experienced violence.
“Ever year we have the Red Rose campaign and it happens in November, we are doing it at the end of October this year because it fell in with the auction we have on Saturday (the Crisis Gala on Nov. 1),” said Thomas.
“The kids come around with me and Mr. Hanson and they drop off to as many businesses as we get to. So we have 150 roses, we drop a rose and a card to each business and basically the kids just say to them, ‘if you can take this card and display it, it’s in memory of the women, children and men in Alberta who died as victims of domestic violence,'” said Thomas.
Thomas really admired how the students have come on board with this campaign. It really educates the young school kids, as well as showing how important it is to prevent this kind of violence.
“It amazes me every year on how the kids get into it. Some years we have 15 kids, others we’ve had 20 kids, this year is a little smaller number but that makes it more manageable to drive around and do it,” said Thomas. “It raises awareness for them too, because as public educator of the shelter my job is going to schools to do presentations.”