With its main objective of raising global awareness on violence against women and with the participation of 203 countries worldwide, making it the largest campaign of its kind, One Billion Rising (OBR) provided the perfect occasion for Bazaar to engage in a philanthropic event and volunteer its time and resources wholeheartedly for a cause that it is passionate about. The Toronto chapter of the event was held in two different locations, Nathan Phillips Square and the Opera house, where we were part of the strategic organizing committee and managed the social media campaign. Bazaar’s participation incorporated handling all details and aspects of the event to ensure its smooth execution; providing a ‘personal touch’ by great communication through the social media campaign; dedicating 16 work hours a day and six weeks of advance planning; providing on-site leadership and accountability during the frequent periods of the organizing committee chair’s absence; and fielding all in-person questions. The support from politicians and MPs, especially Hon. Olivia Chow and Hon. Carolyn Bennett, was immense and overwhelmingly positive. We received great feedback that the social medial campaign had been not only thorough and efficient, but also a major help in driving attendance to the event. On the day of the event and at the height of the evening, all members of the organizing committee joined dignitaries on the stage and started to dance and celebrate the success of the event. It was incredibly satisfying to give back to the community and to see our hard work pay off to help raise awareness for an incredibly important and worthy cause. The committee has already asked Bazaar to work on future campaigns and the response has been a resounding ‘yes’, looking toward exceeding participation beyond one billion for the next global event!
“I am so proud to celebrate the efforts and success of the One Million Rising in Toronto. The committee and the event itself represented the BEST of Canada; truly inclusive and inspirational. The event on February 14th at the Opera House should be viewed as a ‘best practice’ of vision and values; inviting the residents of violence against women shelters demonstrated a ‘walking the talk’ gold standard. I have to say the meeting with the committee on March 8 in my office, was my best ever International Women’s Day experience.” — Hon. Carolyn Bennett