THUNDER BAY -- In the past five years alone, PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise has helped women access more than $4.1 million in grants to start or grow their businesses.
Last year the pan-Northern Ontario organization helped start 113 businesses and expand or maintain 336 more.
On Friday, in celebration of its 20th anniversary, some of PARO’s most successful prodigies returned to the nest, contributing a combined $5,000 to kick off a charity fundraising campaign, a pay-it-forward venture aimed assisting the next generation of female entrepreneurs.
“I’ve been a new business owner who had trouble accessing capital from banks and financial institutions,” said Firedog Communications owner Stephanie Ash.
“I know what the value of a loan and a grant is, that’s for sure. I wanted to be part of this to help other young entrepreneurs and other business women to be able to start and grow their business.”
Having worked closely with PARO over the years, Ash added she’s seen far too many success stories not to give back.
“Lots of my friends have come through PARO, so I see it every day in the community. I see it with my friends and I see it with the businesses I work with,” she said. “So just having the opportunity to be part of that is really something special.”
PARO’s founder and executive director Rosalind Lockyer said the campaign is all about women helping other women succeed.
The money will be used to help support their networks of peer-lending support circles across Northern Ontario, which allows women entrepreneurs to apply for a $1,000 loan to help start their business. Only $500 has to be paid back.
If successful, they can apply for a second $2,000 loan, half of which is forgiven.
“We’ve been 20 years giving out loans. But now we’re giving out loans and grants, so we have to raise the grant money to go with the loans,” Lockyer said.
In addition to the fundraising campaign, PARO will also be hosting a Nov. 13 event, Exceeding the Vision, a day-long affair featuring panels of successful women and singer Buffy Sainte-Marie as their keynote speaker.
The gala evening will close with the selection of the Top 20 in 20 awards, honouring the top 20 PARO women from the past two decades.
For more information, visit www.para.ca.
