Green Haven Shelter for Women

10/19/2026

💚A HUGE Thank You to the Rotary Club of Orillia💚

This past weekend, an incredible group of volunteers from the Rotary Club rolled up their sleeves and helped us tackle a BIG project at Green Haven Shelter for Women!

Our basement storage space is home to many of the essential supplies and generous donations that help us support women and children accessing our shelter. Over time, keeping everything organized and accessible can become quite the challenge, especially with the constant flow of donations coming in and supplies going out.

Thanks to the hard work, time, and dedication of these wonderful volunteers, our storage space has received a much-needed transformation! Not only does this make it easier for our team to access essential items, but it also helps us better manage our inventory and identify where our greatest needs are.

And speaking of needs… our newly organized space revealed a few items we’re running particularly low on!

🧻 Toilet paper (very urgent need) and paper towels
🛏️ Single-size bed sheets and blankets, especially fitted sheets (new, please!)
🗑️ Garbage bags
🧺 Laundry baskets
🧳 Suitcases
🧼 Cleaning supplies, including Lysol disinfectant, all-purpose cleaners, and bathroom cleaners
📦 Storage shelving/rack units to help us continue organizing other areas of our basement

If you’re looking for a way to support Green Haven, donations of these items would make a meaningful difference in helping us maintain a welcoming, comfortable, and well-stocked shelter for the women and children who rely on our services.

To the Rotary Club volunteers: THANK YOU! 💚Your willingness to dedicate your weekend to helping us with a project of this size means so much. Your generosity has made a lasting difference behind the scenes, allowing our team to spend less time searching for supplies and more time focusing on the individuals and families we serve.

We are incredibly grateful to have such dedicated community partners! 💚

10/15/2026

Thank you so much for your support, we were lucky to finish the project and have the Generator installed last winter, which has already been helpful numerous times since!!

Thank you so much for your support Trillium Mutual Insurance!

Safe spaces need to stay safe, even when the power goes out.
Through our ROOTS Community Fund, we are proud to support Green Haven Shelter for Women as they work toward installing a generator to keep essential services running even during emergencies.
For women and children seeking safety and care, having reliable power can make all the difference.❤️‍🩹
Not-for-profit organizations across Ontario can apply to the ROOTS Community Fund by November 20th, 2026.

10/14/2026

⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTICE: FRAUDULENT EMAIL ALERT

Green Haven Shelter for Women is aware of a fraudulent phishing email circulating that appears to have been sent from one of our email addresses.

Please be advised that this email was NOT sent by Green Haven.

The email may contain a suspicious link or attachment designed to collect personal information, compromise accounts, or potentially expose devices to malicious software.

We encourage everyone to remain cautious when receiving emails, even when they appear to come from a familiar person or trusted organization.

🔒 A few important email safety reminders:

✅ Check the sender’s email address. Look carefully for unusual spelling or unfamiliar addresses. Remember that even legitimate-looking email addresses can be spoofed.

✅ Be cautious of unexpected emails. If you weren’t expecting a message, link, or attachment, take a moment to verify it.

✅ Confirm before clicking. Contact the sender directly using a trusted phone number or a separate, known email address before opening anything suspicious.

✅ Protect your information. Never enter passwords, banking information, or other sensitive details through an unexpected email link.

If you receive a suspicious email appearing to come from Green Haven, please do not click any links or open attachments. You can contact our team directly through our established communication channels to verify its legitimacy.

If you have already entered login information, change the affected passwords through the legitimate website and consider contacting IT support.

We appreciate your understanding and encourage you to share this notice to help protect others in our community.

Green Haven Shelter for Women

10/12/2026

💚 Thanksgiving looks different for everyone.

This Thanksgiving, we’re making space for both gratitude and reflection.

As we gather with loved ones, we’re reminded that not everyone has a safe place to call home, and that the histories and experiences surrounding this holiday are not the same for everyone.

Just days after the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we are reminded that listening, learning, and acknowledging difficult truths must continue beyond a single day.

At Green Haven, we’re grateful for the generosity, compassion, and community support that help us provide safety and hope to women and children throughout the year.

We invite you to take a moment to read through our reflections this Thanksgiving. 💚

10/08/2026

💚 Thankful Thursday | A Community That Continues to Show Up

As we head into Thanksgiving weekend, we have so much to be grateful for at Green Haven!

We want to recognize some incredible acts of generosity happening in our community: SWIPE TO SEE ALL THE SUPPORT!

A quick note about donations: Our donations team is not always available on-site, so the best way to reach us is by email at [email protected]. We appreciate your patience and will respond as soon as possible. Please arrange donation drop-offs in advance.

Interested in volunteering? We are also looking for dedicated volunteers who can assist with receiving, organizing, and maintaining our donation inventory on a weekly basis!

Learn more about volunteering at:
https://greenhavenshelter.com/volunteer/

Or visit the link in our bio!

From all of us at Green Haven, thank you for being part of a community that continues to show up for women and children when it matters most. 💚

VolunteerWithUs

💚 To the generous donors who have covered Thanksgiving dinner for the women and children staying in our shelter this weekend. Thank you for helping make the holiday feel special.

💚 To our anonymous donors who have generously stepped forward to provide a new storage shed for Green Haven, which is currently in the process of being ordered and built. This will make a meaningful difference in how we manage and organize donations.

💚 To the Rotary Club, who will be lending their time and support to a major transformation of our donations storage area later this month. We are so appreciative of this partnership and can’t wait to share the progress!

And to every individual, family, business, and community organization that has supported Green Haven through financial contributions, donations of essential items, or acts of kindness—thank you. Your generosity makes a difference every day.💚

A quick note about donations: Our donations team is not always available on-site, so the best way to reach us is by email at [email protected]. We appreciate your patience and will respond as soon as possible. Please arrange donation drop-offs in advan

10/06/2026

🦃💚 Help us fill the Thanksgiving table at Green Haven.

This Thanksgiving, we’re looking for a local business, community organization, service club, family, or individual who would like to help provide a special holiday dinner for the women and children currently staying at Green Haven Shelter for Women.

Whether you’re able to sponsor the full meal or help with part of it, your support can help us create a warm and comforting Thanksgiving for families spending the holiday in shelter.

We’re hoping to provide all the favourites including turkey, potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, gravy, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, dessert and beverages. Grocery gift cards or financial contributions toward the meal are also greatly appreciated.

💚 Interested in helping?

📧 Email [email protected] so we can coordinate with you and avoid duplicate donations.

Sometimes something as simple as gathering around a warm meal can bring a little comfort, connection and sense of home during an incredibly difficult time.

Thank you for continuing to show the women and children at Green Haven that their community is behind them. 💚

10/02/2026

A common question we hear is: “Isn’t Green Haven government funded?”

The answer is yes — but government funding is only one part of how our work is sustained.

Operating a 24/7 emergency shelter and providing ongoing supports for women and children requires a combination of provincial funding, grants, fundraising, community donations, business support, and in-kind gifts. Each funding stream serves a different purpose, and many grants are restricted to specific projects, programs, activities, or time periods.

That means funding for one initiative cannot necessarily be redirected to meet another need — and receiving a grant does not eliminate the need for community fundraising.

Green Haven operates on approximately $1.5 million each year, supporting far more than a physical shelter space.

Those resources help make crisis response, safety planning, outreach, transitional supports, systems navigation, child and youth services, practical assistance, and the day-to-day operation of a safe shelter possible.

This is why community support continues to matter.

Every donation, fundraiser, sponsorship, grant, and partnership contributes differently, but together, they help create the network of support that allows Green Haven to continue responding when women and children need safety.

Funding a shelter is not one cheque from one source. It is a community effort. 💚

09/30/2026

🧡 September 30 — National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Today, we honour the Survivors of residential schools, the children who never returned home, and the families and communities who continue to carry the lasting impacts of the residential school system and colonialism.

At Green Haven, we recognize that truth must come before reconciliation and that reconciliation requires more than acknowledgment on a single day. It requires listening to Indigenous voices, learning from the truths that have been shared, confronting the systems and inequities that continue today, and supporting Indigenous-led healing, advocacy, and change.

As an organization working to address gender-based violence, we also recognize the disproportionate violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people, and the importance of ensuring their voices, experiences, and leadership are centred in conversations about safety and systemic change.

Today, and throughout the year, we encourage our community to listen, learn, reflect, and consider the role each of us can play in advancing reconciliation.
We remember. We honour. We listen. And we continue to learn.

🧡 Every Child Matters.

09/29/2026

We know, we know… it’s not even October yet. 🎄😅

No one is quite ready to start thinking about Christmas 👀….

but December has a way of sneaking up on us, and tickets for this year’s reading of Charles Dickons’ A Christmas Carol are already selling fast! ✨

Green Haven Shelter for Women’s beloved holiday tradition returns to the Orillia Opera House on Wednesday, December 16 at 7:00 p.m., and this year’s cast is truly something special. 💜

Directed by Bruce Pirrie and featuring:

🎭 Aurora Browne
🎭 Neil Crone
🎭 Linda Kash
🎭 Debra McGrath
🎭 Patrick McKenna
🎭 Colin Mochrie

With a musical backdrop provided by pianist Jim Clayton. 🎹

So while you definitely don’t need to put up the tree just yet… but you might want to get your tickets. 😉

Come enjoy an evening of laughter, storytelling, music and a little Christmas magic, all while supporting the essential services Green Haven provides to women and children escaping violence in our community.

🎟️ Tickets: $45 Regular | $20 Student
📅 Wednesday, December 16
⏰ 7:00 p.m.
📍 Orillia Opera House
🎫 Tickets available through the Orillia Opera House

✨ Sponsorship opportunities are also available for individuals, local businesses and community partners who would like to be part of this special evening while supporting Green Haven’s work.

Every ticket and every sponsorship helps Green Haven continue providing safety, support and hope to women and children when they need it most. 💜

Christmas can wait a little longer… but your tickets probably shouldn’t. 🎄✨

09/24/2026

Green Haven Shelter for Women is growing our Board of Directors, and we’re looking for passionate community members who want to use their experience, skills, and connections to help strengthen our organization and support a safer future for women and children. 💜

Board members play an important role in governance, strategic planning, organizational development, fundraising, and community leadership. We’re especially interested in hearing from individuals with experience in fundraising and community engagement, human resources, finance, and program or social work, but we also value the diverse lived experiences and perspectives that make our community stronger.

Previous board experience is an asset, but it is not required. This is a voluntary position.

Interested in making a meaningful contribution to Green Haven’s future? Please submit your resume and a brief statement of interest outlining what motivates you to support survivors of gender-based violence and the skills or perspectives you would bring to our Board.

📧 [email protected]
🌐 greenhavenshelter.com

Please share this post with someone in your network who may be a great fit!