Organize this interview transcript into 2 people, Samira is asking the questions and Shannon is anwering:

like and then if you want as you go through the recording if you find that I'm like long-winded in one answer and you want to kind of take a piece of one like as I said some of the answers may cross over to the other so if you want to be able to just kind of pick and choose like and place it in that question or that answer in that other question like you can as long as it keeps the premise of the of what I'm saying I think you can probably do that right I agree you know like um that's why I say like we record it because then I can couple times listen to it after and then yeah like have my understanding and then like um just towards that do the um do like the the assignments okay perfect okay so the code uh the first question was the shoebox project has grown significantly over the past decade. Could you describe the organization's overall mission and how it has evolved since you founded the Simcoe County and Gray County chapter? Yeah, absolutely. So the Shoebox Project for Women, you know, it's kind of transitioned through branding and name through the years. Originally, it started as the Shoebox shoe box project for shelters and we were a not for profit originally. And then we went through the charitable status. It started in 2011 by four sisters who just, you know, and actually their moms who kind of were like, Hey, let's do something and let's look away at giving back. And it just kind of came together as an idea and it started with this family and then they did it within themselves. And then from there, it grew to what it is today with, uh, with over 45 chapters across Canada and about over 700 dedicated volunteers. And, you know, through the headquarters focus, you know, Toronto and Montreal, and then with the idea of, hey, why don't we have this as the main headquarter and then get different chapters, volunteer chapters throughout Canada and the U.S. and the U.K. at that time. Perfect. So when building the Simcoe chapter, what were the biggest challenges you faced, particularly regarding these strategic issues like community engagement, resource mobilization, or organizational growth? Well, one of the biggest, well, there were quite a few challenges that we faced by bringing a new, at that time, a new organization to Simcoe County because people wanted to make donations, but because we were not an official charity, people, we couldn't focus on bringing monetary donations, which is what we really needed as a startup to bring everything in because we were not able to issue tax receipts. So of course, you know, whether it's an individual or whether it's a corporation, it's kind of in a way, you know, what's in it for them sort of thing. And, you know, in terms of a financial opportunity for them to, you know, reduce their taxes or whatever that looked like. And we did not have charitable status. So that was the biggest challenge. You know, not so much of a challenge for me, because, you know, I always like to put my initiatives behind causes that are near and dear to my heart. And for me, it was something different, because I was able to kind of spin that and not really focus so much on the financial part of it. Even though I didn't have any overhead, I was just a volunteer of one. Thankfully, I was able to focus and shift on the in-kind opportunities through the corporations and seek my friends, my professional friends and family and those things to be able to overcome those obstacles and utilize the relationships that I had in that sector. But the biggest thing at that time of inception of bringing it in was definitely our not-for-profit status. We were not a registered Canadian charity that that was the hardest thing and that's why you were trying to just have like the in-kind donation like you were trying to just um like challenge yourself to just you know have a solution until like uh the the shoebox project uh got the chance to just get a tradable status, right? Exactly. So, you know, it kind of the way that it actually posed a wonderful challenge for me. You know me, I always try to look at it in a positive way and going, how can I make this this organization stand out where everyone is, is asking for donations and how can I make it different? How can I make it stand out? And so that allowed me the opportunity to go, okay, listen, we're different because we're not asking you for money. Yes, you can, you know, you can make that donation if you want with the understanding that I can't give you a, you know, a tax receipt because we're not registered charity. But what you can do is time. And, you know, we're asking for you for a shoebox and then just able to spin it. It all goes into marketing, right? What are people's pain points? And especially around the holidays, everybody is, you know, this is the biggest time of year for so many charities and organizations to count on, you know, the kindness of strangers and corporations and fundraising, all that it takes. But we were asking for a mere shoebox. We were saying, Hey, craftfully and thoughtfully put something together in the way of a gift so we can donate that. And that's continued today, 11 years later, if you remember, even in our opening or our launch on Friday, I said, you know, the great thing about it is we respect that, especially now, you know, people want to do something, people want to make some sort of impact and even if you have a family of five or ten or colleagues and one person buys one item and another person buys another item another person gets the decorative shoe box another person writes a personal note and you put one box together that's enough that's significant that just takeover i had for friday honestly it was like a very nice example and like um like um to just um like um show like a shoebox project like vision it's not only like yes get more more boxes more donation is good but like at the same time um it's great that um the cause and like um like we don't forget like we still want to bring uh something else in addition to like donation like uh like family time or like and a lot of other values that uh this project brings like to the community so that's that's wonderful yeah I and I agree with that because you know like littles want to get involved you know and and you know they they just have their allowance or whatever and and I think what I love about this charity is it's it's a win-win it's an opportunity for inclusiveness inclusiveness it's a way for everybody to feel that they can get involved in some way, shape, or form. And, you know, sometimes I would have people come to City Hall and they would go, I'm sorry, this is all I have. But it's something. Like, it's honestly, people want to do something kind. And if that's, and if that's all they can do in the littlest thing and go buy, you know, go to Dollar Tree and buy shampoo and conditioner or lotion and, and drop it by and we can put a shoebox together. I mean, we're not turning anyone away. People give what they, whatever they can give in any way, shape or any way, shape or form to feel important and feel valuable. And that's what I love in the same retrospect. That's what giving a shoebox gift is about, is it's making all women and girls and gender diverse individuals who are facing homelessness or at risk or vulnerability that they're seen and valued and that we're treating them with dignity and respect so why should we not do the same thing for uh our donors in our community that's great and my question for um like um the respect the shoebox project has it for um like gender neutrals boxes like with the with the new um uh sticker and everything like how you think that's going to impact our local like in overall and how impact like locally in simple county yeah so so what i love about, you know, that, so that's, to answer your question, that's one of the new inceptions. So that is feedback from the shelters and the people that we serve. You know, we do get some pushback where people say, why are you only supporting women? And, you know, as a charity or as an organization, that is our choice. We choose to, you know, support the women because, you know, statistically they are the most vulnerable, the women, girls. And then of course, to be inclusive now they're adding, they've added now for the second season. Now it's gender diverse individuals, which again, I think is right for the climate in terms of inclusiveness under the DEI, you know, realm of, you know, not having, you know, so for those who express themselves individually, and that they can, you know, be empowered as well, and be included and not forgotten because I, you know, outside of, you know, women, girls, there's, or women and men, you know, girls and boys, you know, or the 2SLGBTQ plus community, you know, there, there always seems to be kind of that division in that box. So at least now we can say, okay, women, girls, and gender diverse individuals, because it's in line with our mission. And there are gender diverse individuals that are being served in the shelters and in the Canadian mental health and the organizations that we serve. So of course, we want to be inclusive. 100%. So what strategy did you implement to expand the Simcoe County chapter? And then how does it align with the broader strategic goals of the shoebox project at the time so so my vision was first of all when i when i brought the chapter i could have had the opportunity just to do bury aurelia um but i i thought why not make it the whole region, make it bigger? So at the inception, I actually used to also do Muskoka, because if you can believe it or not, because Simcoe is already vast enough. So at the time when I first brought it, it was Simcoe County, Simcoe Gray, Gray County, and Muskoka. So you and I both know that's a huge region. And then what was happening was, you know, Owen Sound can already be, you know, an hour and a half drive at best, but then factor in a snowstorm, which I totally didn't even put together at the time. And it was a, it was a power of one of myself and really calling in a lot of favors from friends and family, or I think the first people to help me were taxi drivers and as well. So it was kind of hard to, to coordinate that it was taxi drivers. And the challenge that I had was headquarters in Toronto was able to say, okay, we have these corporate partners with, it was a moving company like A&M moving or something, but I didn't have those chapters here. Like I didn't have, I didn't have the support of the same because, you know, individual franchise and I didn't have the caliber of shoeboxes in Simcoe County that I did, or even Muskoka or Gray County. So I only had maybe 10 shoeboxes, for example, that I would need to go to Owen Sound and the moving company would be like, well, it's not worth our time or gas. So then I had to count on my individual friends to help me with that. were paring down the region for one so I said Muskoka needs to be its own chapter and the other thing for efficiency was excuse me was to say Simcoe Gray or no excuse me Gray County so Owen Sound serves Indigenous they need to have their own region. And so I'm trying to get a local coordinator there. And then I just brought it down to our two regions, Simcoe County and Simcoe Gray, because there's that crossover. The reason why I kind of hesitated in doing that is because some of the partner programs like Bayshore Radio, for example, they have a radio station in Owen Sound, and they also have radio stations and media in Collingwood, Masega Beach, Barrie, and Aurelia. So there was that crossover where they were already doing that, which is why I thought, oh, I can handle those regions. But at the end of the day, because all of our donations are local to stay local, which is our goal, it was hard for me to keep up with all those regions. But at the end of the day, because all of our donations are local to stay local, which is our goal, it was hard for me to keep up with all those regions. So that's some of the challenges that I made in paring down and just focusing on who we serve. Some other things that we changed exclusive to Simcoe County, we're focusing on our legacy partners and our corporate partners who've been with us for a really long time, you know, utilizing, for example, REMAX, you know, utilizing those relationships where I know that I can find something in each city or each town. So make it accessible for the community, make it easy for the community in terms of local drop-off locations. So again, you know, I'm trying to make things easier for donors and not lose them. So we can hopefully have those repeat individuals every year as we continue. So those are some changes for consistency and our, our legacy partners and our loyal community individuals who know, who know who we are and love what we do. Yeah. And it was a smart move because when I, when I just like, imagine for the load of like a job, that was a smart move, a hundred And the way you alter it, like I think you brought, instead of one bigger chapter, like three more successful smaller chapter with the focus on their own local area, which is amazing. I think, yeah, that was the best decision you made. That's good job. Good job. Thank you. So sometimes less is more, right? Yeah. Like, like, like I think if, if you were keeping like an entire region as it was at the beginning, maybe the focus and like all the good things you did for each local uh chapters it couldn't happen like because you had to you had to have your focus on three different parts but now you focus on like the smaller like um area for yourself and then you you probably um I think for not probably I say like for sure you were like the one like support to have like a coordinator for the other like region so that's that's it that's a great move. Yeah. the initiatives, how do performance goals for staff and volunteers align with the overall strategic plan and how often are these evaluated? Yeah, so of course, you know, we have our corporate structure and, you know, we have our executive director, we have our board members who are all volunteer and then we have our executive director, we have our board members who are all volunteer, and then we have our executive director, we brought on, so their salary, and then we also brought on some more staff, a volunteer coordinator who is staff, and a few others who are part-time or full-time staff to oversee the local coordinators that are throughout all the chapters. And we also, of course, you know, we have our, we have our budgets, we have our, we have our quarterly meetings, we have our committee members from all, you know, all walks of life, and we have our governance to make sure that our values and everything are in alignment, you know, that that everything is, is, you know, corporate, corporate, you know, that everything is, you know, corporate, you know, directive with our bylaws and everything that we have. So we do issue, we do issue, we have investors, we have corporate sponsors as well, and we count on our donors, but to keep ourselves in line, we do post our impact and we do have impact reports that we do download and we make available annually. And we also have our audited financial statements as well that we make available. So people will have access, you know, to that information on what kind of well that we make available. So people will have access, you know, to that information on what kind of impact that we make. I'm more than happy to provide you with a copy of that. You know, but that's, that's what we're doing now to, you know, to showcase the strides that we're making on that, you know, over the year, and, you know, our volunteer and donor engagement and also our financial stewardship and, you know, the things that we're doing to forge ahead and to make a difference. Also, if you send it to me, that's great because for my slide, I have a five slides, but that's going to be helpful to just implement it to the my slide. So if you can send it to me, it will be great. My- Thank you so much. My question, since like a lot of challenges like face declining for donation in recent years, how has the shoebox project addresses this challenge and what strategies have proven most effective in maintaining or even increasing its impact? Sorry, what question is that? Number six. Many charities have faced declining donations in recent years. is to always, and you'll notice this, they will distribute surveys to the local coordinators and to the volunteers for their measurement to encourage engagement and just to find out what they're doing, if they're in line with meeting their goals, the strategic goals and all the different things like that. So they can always do that, the checks and balances. And then that feedback goes to us on the board of director level and just to make sure that the executive director is doing their job and that everything is in line with what we're doing. The other measurement as well is what happens at the local coordinator level that surveys do go to the shelters that you serve. And that's how we've been able to get feedback about, you know, inclusiveness on shampoo and conditioners or why aren't there gender diverse boxes and things like that. So we can make sure the organizations and the people we serve that we're fulfilling our mission so that's uh that's important for your that's good answer your number five sorry about that yeah um so numbers i just sent you the link for um for the the corporate the corporate thing how many shares have faced in recent years about the old years a challenge. So that kind of goes back to my first comment about what I love about the shoebox, because it is so true as, you know, so many charities face decline in donations in so many years. And most recently we just, we did lose, you know, one of our corporate sponsors where they would have donated like a hundred thousand. That's why they're no longer shoebox project for women by click. You know, that would be, okay, listen, we're going to give you marketing and so on and so forth. So now what they've decided to do is go shoebox project for women and then try to get like minded businesses and smaller donations. So if we say, okay, you can partner with us for $5,000 or, you know, whichever that looks like to make up our financial loss of what we've, of what we've lost in terms of donors. Not only has there been a decline in donations, there's also been an increase on the, in an influx of people needing our gifts and our services, you know, as people do find or having more financial challenges. But it goes back to what I said of that's what I love about the shoebox is we don't always have our hand out asking for financial money. We're saying it doesn't matter if you have if you have product that isn't expired and you can you know offer your your you know um bulk bulk product or donation if you can provide if you're corporate if you can provide a space for us to be able to do that some sort of in-kind exchange will utilize that or everybody do one thing and put together if even if we get one shoebox I think that makes people feel a little bit more easier that hey they're not always having their hand out asking for money because I don't know about you but I mean people get donor fatigue right we've got so many incredible organizations and charities all across for for youth, for whichever. And it's it's really hard to ascertain. And that's what I love about the women's shelter is we kind of are a blanket to all. giving to youth causes, if you live, if you like giving to gender diverse or the 2SLGBTQ plus community, then we've got you covered by way of a shoebox, reminding that people are forgotten that way. So we kind of blanket it if that's your choice. So I think that's one of the ways we've been able to overcome it. The second thing as well is to show our value and our worth that we're way more than just shoeboxes, that we're also the educational piece. That we're now looking to help empower the recipients or other individuals by doing online educational courses as well about combating homelessness and, you know, classes that way. We've also stepped up in terms of, you know, the power of philanthropy and the power of giving by creating educational courses and provided resources for teachers and for students. So we have that available online, again, to make it all encompassing of, you know, hey, we're more than just a charity that's, you know, teach your students or your family or whatever, the beauty of being able to give back and make a difference to others. Perfect. So can you discuss the time horizon for the next three to five years for shoebox project? And then let's combine it with the other question. How do you see the future of the shoebox project within five years? So I would like to see the stewardship, solid partners to be with us, you know, because I feel like we're in this for the long haul. I don't feel like we're going anywhere. I would like to see more national sponsors to be with us. You know, hopefully, my hope would be, you know, the places where the girls and the women are, like the PWHL, for example, I'll just put that as an example, you know, Canadian Tire, maybe, you know, different like Scotiabank. We have really great partnerships and relationships with, you know, with Meridian who help us with grants. And that's that's the other thing. Like so many people are competing with grants that it always seems to be like, how can we stand out and make ourselves different, which is why I think it was really important that we, you know, we stepped out and providing other different things. I'd like us to see, I'd like us to be more consistent, more than just a holiday campaign, more than just, you know um this winter season if we could also do you know more international women's day um you know and provide more partnership opportunities that day that way either international women's day it can't really be mother's day because not all the recipients are mothers but if we do international women's day, or if we could do Pride, maybe, you know, that's, I think that would be like a really good impact, you know, for that. Strengthening our partnerships as well with like-minded individuals and organizations that will continue to amplify our impact and drive sustainable change. We're always looking for community groups that will share our skill building workshops, which is what we're doing for their clients. So then they can have the opportunity to build the capacity of both community members and the partnership organizations. And like I said, we're really looking in short term, in long term, we're looking to build long term relationships, as opposed to these, these shorter term engagements so then you know we can we can have the collaboration and ongoing support always of all the stakeholders that's great i think um i try to cover and if i have a question I back to you during like my my like I'm trying to just like finish these two projects so maybe I back to you with like bothering you with a couple more questions but that was very useful not only because of this interview but that's the opportunity to learn more about Shoebox Project because I try to be more involved. So that's great. Thank you so much. Yeah, no, my pleasure. And it's never a bother. I'm always happy to. Thank you. Thank you so much. Okay. So let me just stop recording. I think we have a couple more minutes. Yeah.