Community Investors I: The Shoebox Project

The first non-profit highlighted in our inaugural Community Investors post is the Shoebox Project. Back in 2011 four sisters-in-law, Caroline Mulroney Lapham and Jessica, along with Vanessa and Katy Mulroney, came up with a unique and simple idea. They were looking for a hands-on way to give back to the community and started by asking people they knew to get a shoebox, decorate it, and fill it with little extras, small luxuries if you will, and then delivered them to women in need.

Each shoebox is filled with items valued at up $50 that a woman would enjoy, but cannot afford in difficult times. These colourful little boxes add joy to the holiday season. In their first year they delivered 156 shoe-boxes. Last year, just three years later and thanks to the generosity of so many, they delivered over 17,000.

The mission of the Shoebox Project is to "brighten the days of women living in our country's shelters and let them know that their community does care about them. Further still, those behind the project state,"We hope that those who have been inspired to participate will gain a deeper understanding of abuse, poverty, and mental illness - all factors contributing to women's homelessness in North America."

CIES clients and staff will be putting together shoeboxes and dropping them off at the Calgary location - ​1167 Kensington Crescent N.W. Suite 100. The Shoebox Project collects and distributes gifts to women in shelters across the United States and Canada. For more information watch the video below or CLICK HERE to visit their website.