Local realtor Bronwen Perry has put her heart into every step she has taken in support of women’s issues involving violence and abuse. In 2017, Perry trekked 100 kilometres on the southern slopes of Iceland, then in 2019 she trekked mile after heartbreaking mile in the Sahara Desert, and this August she is headed to the Purcell Mountains in British Columbia on a 100-kilometre trek – all to raise funds in support of women’s shelters and education programs.
Perry was one of 83 Royal Lepage realtors from across Canada who trekked in Iceland in 2017, one of 103 in the Sahara Desert in 2019, and she will be one of 68 to trek through the Purcell Mountains in August. The treks are sponsored by the Royal Lepage Shelter Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that raises funds in support of women’s shelters and domestic violence prevention programs. Each participating realtor is committed to raise a minimum of $5,000. Perry’s personal goal is $6,000. Twenty percent of the funds raised go toward the Royal Lepage Shelter Foundation’s programs and 80 percent toward the participant’s choice of women’s shelters. Perry will be donating her funds to the My Friend’s House in Collingwood and the Women’s Shelter of Grey Bruce.
To donate toward Perry’s personal goal of $6,000, google Purcell Mountains Challenge for Shelter and click on Find Participant/Team.
The Icelandic trek was physically demanding. The Sahara trek, emotionally gruelling. Both served to remind Perry of the physical and emotional trials that women in abusive relationships endure.
“I have not had anything happen to me personally,” she said. “However, I know people who have. Especially with the job I do, I see how important it is. With young single women and children, I see the emotional effect that comes just from finding them a house or a rental. To know that I am doing my part, well, it’s one of my main goals to help shelters promote themselves.”
Perry donated the funds raised prior to the Icelandic trek to the My Friend’s House. Funds raised prior to the Sahara Desert trek were split 50/50 between the My Friend’s House and the Women’s Shelter of Grey Bruce and will be again this year.
The Royal Lepage Shelter Foundation is a not-for-profit organization. “I feel good about doing this,” Perry said. “The Foundation is very well run. If I have questions, it is there to help. It is so great, and very committed.”
Each trek to date has presented its unique challenges. “Sahara Desert was surprisingly very flat which actually made it a lot more difficult,” Perry said. “In the desert, you are moving your arms and legs in one position all day long. In Iceland, going up and down hills helps keep your body going.
“I have lost a lot of toenails on these treks, one when I got back from Iceland and two after the Sahara Desert.
“Everyone had feet issues on both treks. In Iceland, your feet would swell, but there were lakes and rivers where we could take our boots off and throw our feet in to calm them down. In the Sahara, the guides would set up a tent for us to sit in the shade and we would lean back and put our feet up.
“On the Sahara Desert trek, we started in Morocco. It was a two-day car trip into the desert in Toyota 4Runners. Then the drivers literally just stopped and said, ‘Grab your bags. This is your starting point. Go.’
“I remember one day in Iceland, we had been trekking inside a volcano that had erupted in 2010 when the weather turned instantly. It snowed and we could not see. Our guide almost lost the way. He got us out of there.”
Perry has known since late April that she was selected to take part in the Purcell Mountain trek and she is busy getting in shape. She will be expected to carry all of her gear and camping supplies. “I am happy we live in this area,” she said. “Every other day, I hike. I am going to start doing the Blue Mountain Cascade Trail, straight up the mountain, to get accustomed to going up and down.
“I have no idea what to expect. I have never been in the mountains. I haven’t even travelled out west. I am excited for the unknown.”
For information and to donate, google Purcell Mountains Challenge for Shelter and click on Find Participant/Team. Or, contact Bronwen Perry at 519-538-5755 or 519-373-6427 or bronwen@royallepage.ca. https://royallepage.myetap.org/fundraiser/purcell/individual.do?participationRef=1185.0.2330779219
