Ottawa, ON – December 14, 2023… Immigrant Women Services Ottawa (IWSO)
announces the receipt of a donation of $20,000 from TELUS Friendly Future Foundation,
and the TELUS Ottawa and Eastern Ontario Community Board, in support of IWSO’s
Children Who Witness Violence Program.

“We are honoured to be able to support, for the second time, this program for IWSO.
IWSO has become a staple in the community for Immigrant and Racialized women and
their children seeking a better life,” said Melissa Day, Senior Community Investment
Manager for the TELUS Ottawa and Eastern Ontario Community Board “For over 30
years, these women are directed to IWSO for its outstanding programming, enhancing
women’s integration into the Ottawa community. TELUS Friendly Future Foundation
believes that it is important to reach out to the children of these women to provide them
with the tools and skills to handle life’s future challenges in healthy ways. The children
who witness violence program led by IWSO, will teach children these essential skills and
the Foundation is proud to lend its support to IWSO for this program”.

“We are grateful to have been chosen, for a second time by TELUS Friendly Future
Foundation as a grant recipient for 2023 and also 2021,” said IWSO Executive Director
Mercy Lawluvi “This grant will go towards keeping this essential program funded into
2024, allowing us to keep our commitment to these women to help their children begin
to heal from the violence they have witnessed either at war or in the home. Knowing the
Foundation supports IWSO, as we strive to make Ottawa a better home for the women
and children we serve, is the encouragement that keeps our staff and Board committed
to our mission”

In addition, Josephine Basudde, Manager of Crisis & Counselling services at IWSO also
added, “As the world becomes more unstable the number of children requiring
counselling through our Children Who Witness Violence Program, continues to increase.
Thanks to today’s Grant of $20,000 from TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, we will be
able to support these vulnerable children and guide them towards a future free of
violence in their lives.”

About Immigrant Women Services Ottawa:
The mandate of (IWSO) is to empower immigrant and racialized women in the City of
Ottawa and surrounding areas to participate in the elimination of all forms of abuse
against women; to provide culturally responsive services which will facilitate their
access to community and mainstream services and provide other services/programs
which will assist immigrant women in their journey to attain their full potential. We
create opportunities for women as they integrate into a new society, rebuild their lives
free of violence, and achieve their personal goals.

About TELUS Friendly Future Foundation:
At TELUS, we believe that the synergies between doing well in business and doing good
in our communities have never been more evident. That’s why we created TELUS
Friendly Future Foundation, an independent charitable organization dedicated to
funding health and education programs that help youth and communities thrive in a
digital world. Our Foundation builds on TELUS’ legacy of giving, ensuring support where
it is needed the most is provided to local charities like yours.