40th anniversary

17th of July, 2013

Our 40th Anniversary - Honouring the Courage to Make Change

On 9 May 2013 we invited past clients; staff; supporters; sector colleagues and some of the women who founded Christchurch Women's Refuge to come together to join us in celebrating 40 years of service to Cantabrians living with family violence.

The evening focused on people – the reason Aviva exists. Two of Christchurch Women's Refuge’s founders – Rosemary Howard and Diane Shannon – shared their experiences of founding the first women’s refuge in New Zealand, the challenges - and hostility - they and their friends faced, and their determination to make positive change for women and children living with violence.

April Green and Brian Gardiner both shared inspiring experiences of having overcome violence, the difficulties in taking up that challenge and the liberation of being violence-free. Their personal stories were proof that personal transformation is possible and that we can all support people to begin or continue that journey.

All four speakers demonstrated that achieving personal or social transformation is possible, with determination and the right support. We're very privileged to have shared their stories and learned of their journeys.

We also took the opportunity to progress our own jouney by announcing our new identity that night, transforming from Christchurch Women's Refuge to Aviva. Thank you for joining us as our journey continues.