Coady Institute has 60 years of experience in accompanying leaders who are creating economic and social change and for the past 10 years has developed and held its award winning Indigenous Women in Community Leadership program. Donations to Circle of Abundance – Amplifying Indigenous Women’s Leadership will help Coady in:
- Learning from its work over the last 10 years with Indigenous women leaders and pivoting in a direction that reflects current realities and recent history;
- Expanding Coady’s offerings of Indigenous women’s leadership programs across the country, for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women leaders, both in their community as well as on-campus programs at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia;
- Connecting and creating exchanges for Indigenous women globally; and
- Supporting the incubation of a new Indigenous-led and Indigenous-run women’s initiative.
“The Circle of Abundance is something I support because I believe that there’s no stronger advocate for a community than those living within that community. I believe in women. I believe in their power to build local economies. I believe in their power to build resilient communities. It’s incredibly exciting to be working with Indigenous leaders at Coady, learning from their lived experiences, and of course their collective wisdom.”
– Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively
Butterflies in Spirit: Meet MMIWG Advocate Lorelei Williams
Graduate Lorelei Williams is raising awareness and advocating for victims and families of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) through Butterflies in Spirit – a dance group comprised of family members of MMIWG, formed to empower Indigenous women and raise awareness about her aunt Belinda Williams who went missing in 1978, and cousin Tanya Holyk who was murdered in 1996.
Jeannine Deveau Education Equity Endowment Fund set to Amplify Celebrity Donation to StFX’s Coady Institute
Every new $1 becomes $2 dollars as fund agrees to match donations | Earlier this week, Coady Institute kicked off a campaign in support of the Institite’s Indigenous programming. Ryan Reynolds’ and Blake Lively’s $200,000 gift launched the campaign. The Jeannine Deveau Education Equity Endowment Fund is now willing to commit $500,000 to Circle of Abundance – Amplifying Indigenous Women’s Leadership by matching dollar-to-dollar Blake and Ryan’s donation and up to another $300,000 to match any new donations.
Mentor Enthusiastic about Past and Future of Coady’s Indigenous Program
As with many things, it began with a phone call. For Marie Delorme that phone call came from a colleague 11 years ago and included an invitation to have dinner with Mary Coyle to discuss a concept that led to the founding of Coady’s Indigenous Women in Community Leadership (IWCL) program, which now has more than 144 First Nation, Métis, and Inuit women graduates.
Media articles on Circle of Abundance
- Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donate $200K to Indigenous women’s program | eTalk | The Loop
- Hollywood A-listers kick off campaign in support of Indigenous women’s leadership – Port Hawkesbury Reporter
- A NL woman works with a Hollywood star to help Indigenous women’s leadership | CBC Newfoundland Morning
- Film stars Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds donate to Indigenous women’s program | CBC News
- Hollywood duo Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds donate $200,000 to help kick-start Indigenous women’s leadership program – The Globe and Mail
- Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively Donate $200,000 to Indigenous Women’s Program in Nova Scotia | Exclaim
- Coady Institute’s new fundraiser | CTV News
- Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively Donate $200,000 Indigenous Women Leadership Initiative |com
- Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively Donate $200,000 To Support Indigenous Women Leaders | HuffPost Canada Life
- FX University launches fund for Indigenous women’s leadership, gets A-lister donation – Halifax | Globalnews.ca