The Janet Cluett Fund is in memory of a well-known Wen-Do Instructor who overcame severe adversity in order to complete her Instructor training course, while at the same time successfully escaping from the man who was intent on killing her. Yellow Brick House shelter gave refuge, support and safe housing for herself and her children.
On November 5, 2015, Janet passed away from stage 4-pancreatic cancer, leaving behind an immense legacy through all of her students. Before she died, Janet made a donation to Wen-Do and asked that all her family and friends make donations in her memory exclusively to us. We did what she absolutely would have wanted us to do with these funds – offer accessible classes to women and girls full of practical physical and verbal and emotional self defence.
Almost thirty years after her time at Yellow Brick House, Janet’s daughter, Monique, joined instructor Deb Chard for a workshop as an experienced, intermediate Wen Do student. We honoured Yellow Brick House as, all these years later, they continue to support and provide services to women and their kids.
Janet’s courage, determination, generosity, compassion, wisdom, insight, and sense of humour continues to inspire us all. The strength and support she received from learning and teaching Wen-Do is embodied in this fund by giving organizations the opportunity to provide this training to their clients who are facing similar struggles.
The Janet Cluett Fund allowed us to complete 14 free community Wen-Do workshops in Peterborough, St. John’s, Montreal, Kingston, Sudbury and all over the GTA. Thank-you to our partners:
- St. John’s Native Friendship Centre
- Northwood Neighbourhood Services
- Voices for Women, Sudbury
- Yellow Brick House
- Project Esperance
- Woodgreen Homeward Bound
- Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention
- Council Fire
- Métis Nation of Ontario, Kingston
- Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter
- Native Child and Family Services
- Kawartha Sexual Assault, Peterborough
- Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities
- Malvern Family Resource Centre