Capillary Wave Gathers Support with First Fundraiser and Launch of Women’s Group

By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Burlington Local-News.ca

On April 27, Capillary Wave Community for Men hosted its first-ever fundraiser at the Blk Swan Kitchen Hub in downtown Burlington.

The fundraiser had a family-friendly area on the main floor of the Blk Swan, featuring a clown, balloon animals, and face-painting; upstairs, a charity poker game was in full swing. Members of Capillary Wave and supporters could also try their luck with a raffle, with prizes that ranged from experiences to gift baskets and gift cards. Tickets for the event could be purchased via Zeffy for $20, with all the proceeds going to Capillary Wave.

Local musician Andrew Irving performed at the event and premiered Capillary Wave’s new anthem, “If I’m Not Alright, Is That Okay?”

Nelson Borges, founder and CEO of Capillary Wave, said that the group didn’t have a specific financial goal in mind for the event.

“It’s more for the experience the first time than a number per se,” Borges said. “I’m grateful for $1 or $10,000.”

Capillary Wave will also be launching a women’s branch next week, and Nadine Perry, its executive director, was present at the fundraiser. Perry worked with Borges to create the Capillary Wave men’s branch and worked as an intuitive counsellor for the group.

Perry said that Borges always had a vision of Capillary with three pillars: men, women, and youth. Borges said that the youth branch will be starting up sometime next year and will be open to 16–25 year olds.

 

Attendees could donate to enter raffles for gift cards, sports tickets, and gift baskets.

 

The first women’s meeting will take place on May 6 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Capillary Clubhouse on 600 Brant St. Perry said that eight women are already registered and 55 have shown interest since it was announced.

Perry spoke about the need for a group like this for women in the community.

“A lot of women in the community have been reaching out to me and emailing me, because women want support, they just don’t know what that looks like,” Perry said. “Now we have a model because of the way that we did Capillary Men, so we can do the women’s side the exact same way.”

“We start with support groups on May 6, then we go into workshops, and we’ll be setting up social events as well down the road,” Perry continued.

Perry said that Capillary Women have applied for multi-year funding and hope to get their own building, separate from the men, at some point.

Perry spoke about what she hopes to achieve with Capillary Women.

“I would really love to see the community coming together,” Perry said. “I think a lot of people have been suffering in isolation. There’s been a lot that’s happened over the last few years, and I think people just need a way to reconnect. And especially for women, right now what they’re looking for is sisterhood instead of competition.”

 

Capillary Wave hosted a charity poker game upstairs, while the family-oriented section, including a clown, balloon animals, and face-painting, was on the main floor.

 

Borges spoke about some of the previous donations that Capillary Wave has received and what that money went towards.

“Burlington Helping Burlington gave us $2000,” Borges said. “We were one of the charities the Burlington Dads’ Group sponsored for their annual golf event, and we got almost $25,000 from them. The Burlington Foundation gave us $8,000.”

“Those monies went to giving guys the free therapy that they need and different workshops that we’re working on,” Borges said. “It’s helped us with workshops and bringing in guest speakers and going out into the community for events like woodworking, pottery, and all those kinds of fun stuff.”

Borges spoke about the change that Capillary Wave can have in the community.

“The more people that come, the less power the stigmas have,” Borges said. “They don’t have such a hold when there’s a group that’s there waiting for you, to help you out.”

To find out more about the Capillary Wave Community for Women, visit https://capillarywave.org/mc-events/womens-in-person-support-group/.