THUNDER BAY – There was excitement, cake, promise of more successes for women in the region, and a new website. Today, PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise announced its plans to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
A year-long series of events will take place highlighting PARO’s history, women’s success stories, community socio-economic impact and future goals.
To officially kick off the 20th year celebrations, PARO unveiled its new website at www.paro.ca.
The new site is responsive with mobile devices and can be viewed in both French and English.
To announce the 20th anniversary, PARO also launched its PARO Top 20 in 20 Awards to be held this Fall. This year, PARO will replace the annual Enterprising Women Awards with the one time Awards Gala to honour the Top 20 PARO women from the last 20 years.
Nominees for the PARO Top 20 in 20 Awards should have experienced success in their own right during the past 20 years and have demonstrated excellence in one or more of PARO’s values which include: Cooperation, Ownership, Integrity, Responsibility, Simplification and Peer Support. Nominations will come from the community and be judged by a panel of community influencers.
“We have a lot to celebrate this year;” says PARO Founder and Executive Director, Rosalind Lockyer. “Over the last twenty years, PARO has made real positive change in our region; change in women’s lives, but also change within families, workplaces and communities. Today, we see more women than ever before feeling empowered to take on leadership roles whether at home, in business or in their home communities. Our 20th year provides an opportunity to reflect upon where we have come from, what we have achieved together, but even better, to share our visions for the future.”
Last year, PARO helped create 103 businesses, 292 jobs and touched the lives of 31,104 people. Since 2009, PARO helped women access $ 3,250,339 in grants to start their business.
