International Women’s Day 2026
Each year, International Women's Day offers us an opportunity to celebrate the strength, resilience, and contributions of women and gender-diverse people in our communities. It’s also a time to recognize the ongoing work needed to build a more equitable and inclusive world.
This year, our International Women’s Day Supper was a beautiful reminder of what that work can look like in action.
Held in a space filled with warmth, laughter, and connection, the evening brought together women of Lab West from all walks of life. There is something powerful about gathering around a table: stories are shared, barriers soften, and a sense of belonging grows.
For our Executive Director, this year’s gathering held special meaning as her first International Women’s Day in the role. It was a moment grounded in gratitude for stepping into this work, for the leadership that came before, and for the opportunity to celebrate alongside so many remarkable women in our community.
While the supper was hosted by our organization, the heart of the evening belonged to everyone in the room. It was a celebration of carers and fighters, business owners and community builders, friends, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties, and mentors. Each person present contributes to the strength and spirit of this community in ways that are both visible and unseen.
Throughout the evening, we were reminded that this work does not happen in isolation. It lives in the everyday moments - conversations about housing and transportation, advocacy for better access to services, and the ongoing effort to create a safer, more equitable community for everyone.
Recent connections across the province further reinforced this. In conversations with organizations doing similar work, a common thread emerged: women everywhere are identifying gaps, building solutions, and showing up with passion and determination. While the challenges in Labrador are unique, the resilience and commitment of the women here mirror that same strength seen across Newfoundland and Labrador.
We were honoured to welcome Martina Lavallee from the Journey Project as our guest speaker for the evening.
From the moment she began speaking, Martina brought a sense of warmth, honesty, and deep care to the room. Her work focuses on strengthening justice supports for survivors of sexual violence and intimate partner violence across Newfoundland and Labrador - work that is both critically important and deeply impactful.
Martina’s presence was a powerful reminder of the importance of trauma-informed, survivor-centered work, and the role that compassion and advocacy play in creating meaningful change. The insights she shared, and the spirit in which she shared them, left a lasting impression on everyone in the room.
We are incredibly grateful to Martina for joining us and for the work she continues to do to support survivors and strengthen communities across the province.
At its core, the evening was about recognition. Recognition of the labour, both visible and invisible, that women carry every day. The listening, the supporting, the advocating, and the countless ways women show up for one another and for this community.
We also extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made the evening possible. Thank you to the Legion for hosting us, to our caterers Seasoned With Love for the lovely meal, to Tobin’s Convenience for the beautiful cakes, to our musical guest Kerri MacPhee for sharing music with us, to our guest speaker Martina Lavallee from the Journey Project for joining us, and to Katherine Dawe for capturing the memories of the night through her photos.
We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Rio Tinto IOC for their Community Caring Grant, which helped make the night possible and allowed us to offer tickets free of charge to our community.
As the evening came to a close, one thing was clear: the spirit of International Women’s Day does not live in a single event. It lives in the connections we build, the care we offer, and the work we continue.
To everyone who joined us: thank you.
