Just a few days before COVID shut the country down in March 2020, Judy appeared in The Vagina Monologues with a vibrant collection of 22 diverse women ranging in age from 18 to 70. The net proceeds from the two shows at The Heritage Playhouse were donated to support the SCCSS Together Against Violence programs. In the play, women’s voices are heard, understood, valued, respected and honoured.
“The match was just right,” says Judy, “since our project is to help raise the needed funds to build 34 units of affordable housing for women and their children facing violence or homelessness. Sadly, this great need still exists in 2024. Just recently, the Ontario legislature declared Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic in the province. We need to give women and children on the Sunshine Coast a leg up to heal and thrive in safe housing complete with supportive services in the same location.”
Judy’s 40 year career as a special events, marketing communications and fundraising professional saw her tackle contracts and employment in national retail, corporate, post-secondary and charitable foundation organizations. From producing fashion shows and Santa’s Breakfasts, post-strike union/management employee and community relations, hotel and campus openings, to managing fundraising for a community college, sponsorships for major cancer conferences and events, and town gown relations for UBC’s 50 plus publicly accessible facilities, Judy brings a wealth of experience and commitment to this critical cause. Today, she is an artist who volunteers with local public galleries, and who paints, naive, abstract and brightly coloured canvasses.
