Two women with a united passion for their region have entered a partnership that hopes to inspire and empower others in the community.

Local anti-domestic violence charity, Got Your Back Sista, has been named the recipient of the first major community partnership of The Lady Shake with a donation of $15,000 to kick things off.

The partnership will kick-off in October with a challenge to inspire women to think about their health and wellbeing while also that of others in their community.

It will also see The Lady Shake contribute funds that will help Got Your Back Sista provide self-defence and healthy cooking classes, as well as provide support through the charity’s empowerment circle.

The Lady Shake Founder and CEO Belinda MacDougall, said that the alliance with Got Your Back Sista provided a timely opportunity to empower women to be proactive about their health while also supporting a local charity that was doing so much to improve the lives of many women in our region.

The Lady Shake was created as part of Belinda and Adam MacDougall’s Man Shake business.

The MacDougall’s have been very supportive of many local and Hunter-based charities and according to Belinda, the partnership with Got Your Back Sista was a logical and natural fit for an organisation that was helping women to take control of their health.

“I heard Mel speak at an event earlier this year and immediately saw the synergy between the two Hunter-born organisations,” Belinda said.

“I am very excited to be working with Mel and the Got Your Back Sista team to progress the work they do to help women create new lives after fleeing domestic violence.”

Got Your Back Sista CEO and Founder Melissa Histon, said that the current COVID-19 landscape had provided additional layers of challenges for the community.

“The charity has experienced increased demand from women in our region since March,” Melissa said.

“The partnership with The Lady Shake will not only help us provide additional services to meet this demand but also provides us with another way to have conversations that we hope will empower our community to ‘say no to domestic violence’.

“Domestic violence is never ok – it is not ok for one person to be violent to another. It must end! Real change comes when communities work together and we are very grateful and excited about working with Belinda and the Lady Shake team. We are also encouraging women to take The Lady Shake Challenge in October,” Melissa said.

IMAGE | Melissa Histon from Got Your Back Sista and Belinda MacDougall from The Lady Shake.