Sponsored by the Alexandra Horwood & Andrew James Labbad Fund.
The Crisis Grant’s purpose is to support an entrepreneur or innovator who has been inadvertently affected by crisis i.e. natural disasters or directly impacted by the effects of COVID.

Laurie Samuel has an impressive background working with law enforcement both here in Canada and the USA. She has studied criminology and throughout her earlier career became increasingly aware of the crime statistics regarding violence against women. It felt personal to her. She explained this could happen to your sisters or your mother, and by the time the call is made to the police, it is too late!

What started organically through working out in her local gym has grown and continues to do so. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, domestic violence numbers have skyrocketed with more and more women reaching out for help. The work of Cupid Sting has quadrupled. With lockdowns and in-person restrictions, they were not always able to help women face-to-face but they continue to find innovative ways to reach women remotely where they are.

Cupid Sting is a women’s safety non-profit advancing the UN principle to empower women and girls. It is our mission to teach women and girls life-saving skills to protect themselves inside and outside their homes in order to reduce victimization. Working with victims and survivors of domestic violence, Cupid Sting also teaches self-defense classes to help women reduce their victimization.