Women of Oz Launches Summer 5 Drive This Saturday:

Every age. Every stage. Every single woman impacted.

The goal: 100,000 Ruby Slipper Club members in 100 days. The method: Simple mathematics and unstoppable love.

THE SPARKLE STARTS WITH THE SIZZLE

Dr Ashton Wilson and Dr William Krithararis from Alpha Sports Medicine have teamed up with Emma from BFT Altona North to host a sausage sizzle launching the Summer 5 Drive. Nick and Vince from A & L Gugliotta & Sons Butchers have generously donated the sausages.

LAUNCH EVENT:

• Date: Saturday, 25 October 2025
• Time: 7:00 AM - 11:00 AM
• Location: BFT Altona North, 18 Bennett Dr, Altona North VIC 3025

"Three small businesses starting a ripple that will, with your support, become the tide," says Paige Lamoureux, Founder of Women of Oz. "The sparkle starts with the sizzle - and it starts this Saturday."

THE POWER OF 5: SIMPLE MATHEMATICS, MAGNIFICENT CHANGE

Women of Oz developed the Summer 5 Drive using exponential growth: You invite 5. Those 5 invite 5 each = 25. Those 25 invite 5 each = 125. In just 8 waves, one person becomes 390,625 people.

"Connection creates protection so no woman walks alone," says Lamoureux. "We're asking for your circle of 5. Simple mathematics creating magnificent change."

The Ruby Slipper Club is Women of Oz's regular giving program. We need 100,000 members by summer's end (28 February 2026) to execute our blueprint - to build The Emerald Lady and drive the monumental social and systemic change that ensures women and their children are safe.

WOMEN OF OZ: LEADING WITH LOVE

Women of Oz is a registered charity founded by women with lived experience - all volunteers with a clear vision and complete blueprint to create monumental social and systemic change.

"We believe women were born to sparkle, not be a statistic," says Lamoureux, her voice carrying both lived experience and hope. "That's why we don't spout statistics. We will never reduce a woman to a number."

Lamoureux's voice becomes deeply personal. "I was one of the fortunate ones. When I fled in fear for my life, I had somewhere to go. But hundreds of thousands of women across Australia don't. And they don't leave, because they have nowhere to go."

And then she smiles, because she knows something systems don't: Community has always been stronger than institutions. Love has always been more powerful than bureaucracy. And 100,000 people choosing each other creates the safety that systems promise but never deliver.

THE EMERALD LADY: WHERE WOMEN SPARKLE AGAIN

At the heart of Women of Oz's blueprint is The Emerald Lady - what Lamoureux describes with unmistakable love as "the most beautiful, thoughtfully planned and designed safe space for women."

"Imagine this," Lamoureux continues, her vision crystal clear. "Instead of walking into a police station or emergency room, The Emerald Lady welcomes her with beauty, love, and dignity. A safe place to call home. A place to find her sparkle again. Whether she's just experienced sexual assault, is homeless, or escaping family violence, The Emerald Lady will provide everything a woman needs - safety, support, accommodation, healing, and hope."

Not a shelter. Not a refuge. A sanctuary where women sparkle again.

"This is what love looks like in action," Lamoureux explains. "This is what happens when women who've lived it, design the solution. This is The Emerald Lady - But she can only exist if we reach 100,000 Ruby Slipper Club members. That's why the Summer 5 Drive is so critical. The Emerald Lady is waiting to be built. She's waiting for us to make her real."

LET THIS BE THE SUMMER THAT CHANGES IT ALL

"Can you imagine the collective power of 100,000 people choosing to protect women and girls?" asks Lamoureux. "That's not a charity campaign. That's a movement. That's the #dobettergeneration stepping up."

"Let this be the summer that changes it all," Lamoureux urges. "The summer we stopped waiting for systems to save us and started saving each other. The summer 100,000 people chose to be the change."

TO EVERYONE: JOIN THE MOVEMENT

"Women especially have had the power all along," says Lamoureux. "Once we step into that, we will literally be unstoppable. And I mean that with every fiber of my being. We. Are. Unstoppable."

To every man: "Ruby Slippers come in work boots, runners, even thongs," says Lamoureux. "Whether you wear oxfords or bluestones, you have a role to play. A woman does not matter because she is your sister, wife, mother, or friend. She simply matters. Period."

"We acknowledge that men are also impacted by social norms and many are feeling pain, confusion, and uncertainty about their role," Lamoureux continues. "We're here to support and educate. This isn't women's work - this is humanity's work. The #dobettergeneration includes everyone who believes women were born to sparkle."

Join the Ruby Slipper Club ($10/week, $10/fortnight, or $10/month) - not as charity, but as solidarity. Invite your circle of 5 - not as obligation, but as love in action.

"Connection creates protection so no woman walks alone," Lamoureux says, her voice filled with the kind of love that changes worlds. "That's the power of us. That's how we ensure every woman sparkles. Not someday. This summer."

THE INVITATION

"I believe in us," Lamoureux says simply. "I believe in the power of community. I believe that this Summer of Love, Action, Respect, Change & Safety will be the summer we look back on and say 'that's when everything changed.' That's when 100,000 people chose each other. That's when we ensured every woman sparkles."

Join the Ruby Slipper Club: https://womenofoz.supporterhub.net.au/donations/summer-5-drive-ruby-slipper-club

Attend Saturday: 7:00 AM, BFT Altona North, 18 Bennett Drive, Altona North

100 days. 100,000 people. The Power of 5.

ABOUT WOMEN OF OZ

Women of Oz is a registered charity founded by Paige Lamoureux and women with lived experience. The Ruby Slipper Club funds The Emerald Lady safe space and complete safety architecture for women and girls.

MEDIA CONTACT: Paige Lamoureux | paige@womenofoz.org.au | 0451 545 633

This isn't a press release. This is a love letter to every person who believes that simple mathematics and unstoppable love can ensure every woman sparkles.

#WomenofOz #Summer5Drive #EmeraldLady #RubySlipperClub #ConnectionCreatesProtection