in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 30 ,2 02 0 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised family of newspapers is comprised f of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca insidehalton@metroland.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeavfacebook.com/OakvilleBeavf @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Director of Production Mark Dills Regional Production Manager Manny Garcia Directors of Advertising Cindi Campbell and Ryan Maraj CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-845-3824 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Advertising: 289-293-0620 Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. Letters to the editor Send letters to insidehalton@metroland.com. All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at insidehalton.com OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM When COVID-19 start- ed, you heard us loud and clear - women in abusive homes were not able to call the shelter or their friends and family. There was no reprieve - no safe time - to call or reach out. Now, we are see- ing our crisis calls in- crease and we are prepar- ing for an influx of clients. And in the midst of all of this, all our face-to-face events have been can- celled, resulting in a huge financial loss for the orga-financial loss for the orga-f nization that directly sup- ports women and children who need us. Halton, we need you. But where there is chal- lenge, there is opportuni- ty. Here are a couple of dif- ferent virtual fundraisersferent virtual fundraisersf you can easily host. • Challenge yourself ! Ask friends and family to pledge you to complete a challenge (e.g., 20 push- ups, walking a long dis- tance, book reading goals, doing at-home yoga, and so on). • Use your talents! Lead a workout, gardening or craft tutorial on your Face- book or Instagram page, and ask your virtual at- tendees to donate to partic- ipate. • "Gift" back! Have a vir- tual birthday/anniversa- ry party and collect dona- tions for Halton Women's Place in lieu of gifts. • Games for a good cause! Host a game night, poker tournament or bin- go night! Special thanks goes out to Dr. Vineet Bhandari from Bhandari Dental, who, as part of their Brighter Smiles for our Community program, is offering in-of- fice whitening for a reducedfice whitening for a reducedf price, with proceeds direct- ed to Halton Women's Place. Call to book, and mention Halton Women's Place to get the promo price! Call them at (289) 813-8239 and visit their website at bhandari- dental.com. And our supporters have been filling their cups! Will you join them? Have a virtual (or physi- cally distanced) coffee with a friend, colleague or family member, and do-family member, and do-f nate the cost of your daily cup of coffee to help Halton Women's Place during thisWomen's Place during thisW difficult financial time. (Donations of $20 or more will receive a tax receipt!) Find out more at halton- womensplace.com/ events/fill-your-cup. For more information on how you can support Halton Women's Place, or to find out more about us, email kmckenna@halton- womensplace.com. Visit our website at www.hal- tonwomensplace.com. Carm Bozzo is the man- ager of development and communications for Hal- ton Women's Place. She can be reached at cboz- zo@haltonwomen- splace.com. CHALLENGING TIME FOR OUR SHELTERS HALTON WOMEN'S PLACE CALLING ON COMMUNITY'S SUPPORT AS CRISIS CALLS ON THE RISE, WRITES CARM BOZZO For many, the COVID-19 pandemic will change your life in ways you could not have imagined. Sometimes change can have a negative impact, but it can also lead to positive results. This article will focus on the positive. Some will be able to low- er their housing costs and increase their quality of life. Many in our province complete their daily pil- grimage to Toronto or the GTA for employment. The commute time for some can be one hour or more each way. If you work in a tall building, your commute time in an elevator respect- ing physical distancing can take one hour or more. You go to work and leave. That's two trips in the elevator. Go out for lunch. That's two more trips. Time in an elevator can suddenly be- come a significant part of your commute. That additional elevator time, added to the time get- ting to the building be- cause of where you live, means a large chunk of your workday has nothing to do with work. The pandemic has shown us the old way of working is not necessarily the best. Technology has changed that. Group and in-person meetings were quickly re- placed with Zoom meet- ings, done from your house with the friendly back- ground sounds of children and dogs. Suddenly, we have a new normal. The role of the physical office is changed forever. Businesses realize they can reduce costs by elimi- nating some or all of the re- al estate expenses of rent- ing space. Workers understand the potential of eliminating the commute to work. Sudden- ly, there is an opportunity to upgrade your housing options and reduce costs. Some families will relo- cate to towns further away from where they work, re- sulting in lower real estate costs, larger homes, more property and more time with the family versus commuting. Lots of positive change will grow from this danger- ous illness. Peter Watson, of Watson Investments MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI offers a weekly financial plan- ning column, 'Dollars & Sense'. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- s.com. COVID-19 COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOR THE BETTER PANDEMIC HAS SHOWN US THE OLD WAY OF DOING THINGS ISN'T NECESSARILY THE BEST, WRITES PETER WATSON PETER WATSON Column SNAPSHOT A red squirrel finds his next meal in a Bronte-area backyard. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Carla Pellegrin photo CARM BOZZO Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM