BUILDING ON STRONG FOUNDATIONS

The next chapter of the Moose Hide Campaign

The Moose Hide Campaign is a grassroots Indigenous-led movement dedicated to empowering individuals, organizations and communities to take action and stand together against gender-based violence.

Each May, the campaign hosts the Walk to End Violence in Victoria, B.C. and invites Community Champions to host their own events where they live.

At the start of their 14th year, the campaign celebrated the milestone Rite of Passage as Co-Founder, Raven Lacerte, became the Executive Director. Raven has guided the campaign since its founding in 2011, while learning, growing and being mentored by previous leaders.

“This moment is both a celebration of what we’ve accomplished together and a look to the future,” said Lacerte. “I’m honoured to step into this role, continuing the work to inspire and mobilize communities in ending gender-based violence.”

As they begin this new chapter, the Moose Hide Campaign is focused on deepening engagement and education across schools, workplaces and communities; strengthening leadership by empowering youth, men and community champions to take action; and ensuring sustainability and growth so the movement continues to reach new communities while remaining grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

Raven Lacerte at the Walk to End Violence in Victoria, B.C. Tegan McMartin Photography

Bringing our peers along with us

Another exciting milestone was the first-ever Moose Hide Campaign Sponsor Summit. TELUS leadership joined Lacarte and Barb Ward-Burkitt, Executive Director of the Prince George Friendship Centre alongside BMO and Scotiabank to discuss the various ways organizations can participate and contribute to the movement as part of their reconciliation journeys.

“When I think about BMO, Scotiabank and TELUS sponsoring the campaign and then coming forward to say that we want to talk about the impact this can have in their spaces is a huge deal to me, to this work and to so many women in this country who are experiencing violence today,” said Lacerte.

From informing Indigenous talent strategies to helping sponsors build trust with the clients and communities they serve, each leader shared insights into their unique approaches to aligning with the movement and the benefits of doing so. For TELUS, this partnership has provided the foundation of our response to the Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National

Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls 231 Calls for Justice ,helping us to educate team members, customers and partners each year about the impact we can have in ending violence.

The sponsors shared that the Moose Hide Campaign is an accessible and tangible way to galvanize our team members, customers and partners to join in the conversation by leveraging the resources and the invitation to build a relationship based on reciprocity with the campaign team.

Regardless of the industry or size of an organization, there are meaningful ways to amplify the movement:

Sign your team up for the five-part we are medicine: a practical journey to end violence program
Order pins for your team
Host a Walk to End Violence or kiosk in May
Become a sponsor

Watch the Sponsor Summit to hear their insights.

TELUS team members in Toronto, ON on Moose Hide Campaign Day.

TELUS team members in Montreal, Quebec on Moose Hide Campaign Day.

Meaningful conversations, lasting impact

The Moose Hide Campaign continues to resonate with team members across TELUS. With 47 team members volunteering their time as part of the working group to amplify the movement across their large teams, the impact of this campaign is being felt across the organization.

Team members are wearing and sharing pins, sparking conversations with their virtual backgrounds and learning more about their personal roles in making their communities safer by attending roundtable discussions and watching the campaign’s virtual workshops. Many teams continue to align their May events with the Moose Hide Campaign ensuring that every team member knows about the campaign, why it is important and how to participate.

Inspired by the positive responses from last year, TELUS continued inviting partners, suppliers, peers and government partners to engage with the campaign. From sharing pins at meetings to encouraging partners to join us at the 17 Walks to End Violence we participated in across Canada, 16 partners took action to further this important movement.

As part of our response to the National Day for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People, TELUS team members hosted roundtable discussions leveraging the campaign’s Ending Violence guide.

Our commitment to this campaign goes beyond a typical partnership and we are humbled by the campaign team’s dedication to bringing us alongside them on this journey towards a safer future for all.