The ‘ladies club’ of Wildpine Residence have filled the purses for the ladies at Chrysalis House

(A few of the Ladies Club members at Wildpine Residence were on hand preparing the donations for their ‘Fill-a-Purse’ campaign. L-R: Lucy (Assistant General Manager) along with residents Audrey, Francine and Norma are extremely pleased with the generous community donations. Photos: Stittsville Central)

Last week, we took the opportunity to visit Wildpine Residence to find out more about a special project the Ladies Club were organizing, along with some of the Easter preparations the residents were working on. For the month of March, the Ladies Club at Wildpine Residence in Stittsville have been busy collecting and keeping track of hygiene product and purse donations received from the community and businesses for their month-long ‘Fill-a-Purse campaign. The initiative was inspired by the group of ladies in collaboration with International Women’s Day being recognized in March. The ladies wanted to bring more awareness to the important day and take it a step further by supporting women in difficult situations by giving back to our community.

They were made aware that there was a need in the local women’s 25-bed shelter, Chrysalis House, and connected with the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre to see how they could help. Through their conversation, the ladies knew where they could help best – purses filled with hygiene needs.

They created their poster to go out to the community and sent emails to family and friends asking for the donations of not only the hygiene products, but gently used purses as well. The donations started to flow in with over 70 purses of every shape and size being donated, along with tables full of everything needed to fill them to the brim. There was a plethora of toothbrushes donated by Crossing Bridge Family Dentistry, family, friends and staff donated deodorant, soaps, bathing oils, nail polish and remover, bath scrubs, creams and lotions, sanitary products – everything one can think of to help the women feel special.

As each purse arrived, the ladies would ensure they were clean, sanitized and in perfect shape to donate. Products were gathered and sorted by category, ready for the production line of filling the purses.

Peggy, from the ladies club told us, “I am so pleased to see this purse project come to be and to be a part of it. We are fortunate, but not every women is.”

This week the purses were filled and ready for delivery to the WORC then on to Chrysalis House. The ladies are so proud of their first heartfelt achievement of giving back to our community.

(The Fill-a-Purse campaign was a happy achievement reached by the Ladies Club of Wildpine with thanks to those who donated to the worthy cause they were supporting.)

On our visit, down the hall, we found Peggy and Donna busy icing their bunny cupcakes in time to accompany the special Easter dinner being served to all of the residents. They had baked 72 cupcakes and each had to be iced and topped off with Peggy and Donna’s homemade upside down chocolate bunny – cheeks up! The pair had also made colourful chocolate mini eggs for the residents to enjoy. We all shared stories of times gone by and had some good chuckles.

Residents would enjoy a good giggle when they saw the delightful cupcakes and realized what they would be biting into. Peggy and Donna each have a great sense of humour and were looking forward to seeing the faces of their friends at the dinner.

At Wildpine, every resident is encouraged to get involved with a variety of activities. It keeps residents young at heart and plays a large part in the community spirit visitors feel when they walk through the front door.

To find out more about Wildpine Residence visit their website or follow their facebook page.

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