$14.7 million to support more young victims of sexual violence

Launched in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic and as Marie-Vincent was grappling with a list of 500 children waiting up to 2 years to get the professional help they needed, the major fundraising campaign chaired by CDPQ President and Chief Executive Officer Charles Emond raised 14.7 million dollars to support even more young victims of sexual violence.

Understandably concerned with what it deemed as unacceptable waiting times to access its services, Marie-Vincent implemented an action plan to deal with the situation. We can proudly report that, thanks to the steps taken and the unprecedented funding received, the waiting time to access our services has gone from 24 months to an average of 16 months as of March 2023. And our work continues! “The 2020-2023 fundraising campaign has resulted in a substantive shift within our organization. With a bigger team, we can help a greater number of young victims to look toward a more hopeful future after overcoming the unimaginable. Moreover, it also allows us to develop new sexual violence prevention initiatives to build a community that protects our children”, adds Marie-Vincent Executive Director Stéphanie Gareau.

More staff and more services

These positive results reflect the concerted efforts and unwavering commitment of the entire Marie-Vincent team. Not only has Marie-Vincent hired several new professionals, doubling the number of caseworkers, it also reviewed its sexual violence intervention program. More specifically, immediate intervention services for families, psychosocial support as well as group therapies for children aged 6 to 8 and 9 to 12 were added to the psychotherapeutic support already offered. Alongside its efforts in Montréal, Marie-Vincent also opened a new Child & Youth Advocacy Centre in the Montérégie region to better address the area’s important needs.

Substantial support thanks to an inspiring campaign

All these initiatives were made possible thanks to our major fundraising campaign, spearheaded by a resolute campaign cabinet. Its enthusiastic and tireless president, Charles Emond, President and Chief Executive Officer of the CDPQ, rallied several organizations around the Marie-Vincent cause. “This show of solidarity and commitment for Marie-Vincent in recent years has allowed significant progress toward making our dream of building a protective community for young victims of sexual violence a reality. The funds that were raised will help change, both today and for the foreseeable future, the lives of the children Marie-Vincent cares for. Our 2020-2023 goal was set at 9.5 million
dollars. We are proud to report that $10.1 million was raised during that period and that we have confirmed commitments totalling an additional $4.6 million for the period up to 2028. A wonderfully unexpected success for Marie-Vincent!”, shares Stéphanie Gareau.

“Nothing is more valuable than our children and we must do everything we can to protect them. There lies the commitment that drove all those involved in the Foundation’s latest campaign. My heartfelt thanks to every single person who added their voice to mine and helped build greater awareness throughout our community of Marie-Vincent’s mission and commitment to give our children a better future. To every donor, thank you for your generosity. We can be proud of what we’ve achieved together during this fundraising campaign, and of our efforts in building a caring and inspiring community”, explains Charles Emond, President and Chief Executive Officer of the CDPQ.

90% of all parents highly satisfied with the services their children received

An assessment of our clientele’s satisfaction, conducted by the Marie-Vincent Research Chair, shows that psychological and psychotherapeutic support services provided by Marie-Vincent to young victims of sexual violence and their families have a real and remarkable impact :

● 90% of all parents said they were highly satisfied with the specialized treatments their child
received.
● Parents who answered the survey also felt that therapeutic services benefit both their
children (84%) and themselves (80%).
● Nearly 74% of all children aged 12 and under said that the intervention was very helpful
and 73% of participating adolescents felt the same way.

These positive statistics illustrate the importance of our model. Given that 2 out of 5 children report post-traumatic stress symptoms, specialized services at Marie-Vincent are crucial because they help significantly decrease the symptoms they experience.

“Through the support of everyone who contributed directly or indirectly to this major campaign, we now have the means to fulfill our ambitions: the opportunity to reach higher and look further so as to build a protective community ever more mobilized and committed, with the shared vision of taking a unifying leadership role throughout Québec to address violence against young people. We have the power to change things, together, now more than ever!”, concludes Ms. Gareau.

Members of the major fundraising campaign cabinet

President | Charles Emond, President and Chief Executive Officer | CDPQ

Governors |

● Alexandre L’Heureux, President and Chief Executive Officer| WSP
● Julie Godin, Co-Chair of the Board, Executive Vice-President, Strategic Planning and
Corporate Development | CGI
● Mark Mulroney, Vice Chairman & Head, Financial Sponsors, Corporate & Investment
Banking | Scotiabank

Ambassadors |

● Éric Bédard, Managing Partner, Québec Region | FASKEN
● Isabèle Chevalier, Entrepreneur / investor
● François-Xavier Souvay, Founder, President and CEO | LMPG inc.
● Pierre Pomerleau, President and CEO| Pomerleau

Partners |

● Dominic Bécotte, Co-founder and Managing Partner | Amiral Ventures
● Roger T. Duguay, Managing Partner and Founder of Boyden’s Montréal office | Boyden