Incorporate Charities Into Your Holiday Gift Giving

Marina Glogovac, President & CEO, CanadaHelps

In a typical year, a significant portion of all charitable giving happens in the few months leading up to the December 31st tax receipt deadline. At CanadaHelps, about 39 percent of all donations made through our website and tools for charities happen in November and December. This funding is what many charities rely on to ride out the rest of the year. Of course, the last 20 months have been far from typical. Throughout the pandemic, charities have faced drastically reduced revenues and increased demand for their services.

CanadaHelps projected overall giving dropped 10 percent in 2020 due to the pandemic. Advocating on behalf of Canada’s charitable sector, the latest research from Imagine Canada found that 56 percent of charities are struggling, and their recovery is at risk. Thankfully, charities across the country have accepted the challenge of this last year to ensure they can continue to provide critical services to Canadians such as mental health counselling, senior care, food service, shelter, rescuing animals, and so much more.

This holiday season, let’s support our communities. The great news is that you can easily integrate charitable donations into your gift giving this year—and your loved ones will thank you. Research from the Red Cross found that 59 percent of Canadians would rather receive a charitable gift than a traditional gift.

That statistic warms my heart, and makes sense, since many of us have the privilege of comfort and having far too much “stuff.” Instead, the holidays can be an opportunity to give even more meaningful gifts. Consider a Charity Gift Card or a virtual item from a charity’s gift guide for teacher and colleague gifts, hard-to-buy-for family members or faraway loved ones. With a Charity Gift Card, the recipient chooses the charity to support, and the sender receives the charitable tax receipt.

In addition to gifts, I encourage all Canadians who are able to give generously this year. Many Canadians have saved a lot of money by working from home this year, so there is an opportunity to share some of that benefit with the broader community by setting up a monthly gift, finding a new charity to add to your giving plan, or stretching your giving budget. This holiday season, let’s all make a point of including our broader community in our gift-giving plans and spread the spirit of generosity to others.

Find a charity to support, or send a Charity Gift Card, at www.CanadaHelps.org

Gifting Little Trees of Light to The Community

Allie Murray

For Alison Hiroko Marshall and Allison Ide, the holidays are a time for giving back. During the 2020 holiday season, amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two best friends began making wooden Christmas trees one of the finishing touch of some holiday lights. They sold the trees locally and made more than $4,000, which they donated back to two charities: The Lighthouse for Grieving Children, and Ian Anderson House, both of which are in their local Oakville neighbourhood. The idea for the trees and the charitable donations sparked when they began receiving messages from people online who wanted to purchase the trees they had made. They each sought to pick a charity. Alison, who lost her father to cancer, chose Ian Anderson House after her father spent his final days at the local hospice, and Allison chose Lighthouse for Grieving Children because of her passion for kids. The pair began making the wooden trees in Alison’s garage, using her father’s tools. She shared that it helped her feel close to him and honour his memory with every tree she created.

“Alison chose Ian Anderson House as her dad spent his final days there,” Ide explained. “The staff made her dad and her entire family as comfortable as they could be during a very difficult time. For her, it was the best possible care they could have asked for and she is passionate about Ian Anderson House and their important role in our community.” After seeing so much success in their first year, the duo decided to do it again, striving to make more trees and donate even more back to their community. By mid-November, they had sold close to 900 trees and raised $20,000, with the proceeds going towards those same two charities that hold a close place in their hearts. “For me, I chose Lighthouse for Grieving Children as I have been dedicated and committed to working with children for the better part of the last 20 years,” Ide said. “When a child loses a parent—no matter what stage they are along their path—they are returned to a state of being a child and feel that same loss and burden as deeply. I am empathetic and grateful for the work these members working at Lighthouse do for our young hearts, and support them in their journey of grief and loss.”

This year, they offered new tree designs, including a kids tree with colourful lights, a snowy set, and their classic smokey grey set with warm fairy lights. The best friends had goals of quadrupling their charitable efforts this year and even hosted a Christmas pop-up market with other local vendors in their backyard. The market was dubbed “Handmade with Love” and brought hundreds of patrons to their local market. Reflecting on the impact they’ve made, which all started with a “crafternoon” session during the pandemic, the two are thinking towards the future, aiming to continue making a large impact, year after year.

“Alison and I can say—in near synergistic terms—that this small seed planted one year ago has rooted us in so many ways,” Ide said. “We are friends, neighbours, collaborators, and true partners in every sense of the word and emotion. Throughout this process, we have had deep belly-laughs from our core, and cried in grief together. We are exhausted, elated, excited, and aligned in our venture together and it has meant so much more personally, for our families and within our community than we could have ever imagined.”

Food for Our Communities, Food for All: The 519 Responds to Food Insecurity During the Pandemic

The 519 is Canada’s most prominent 2SLGBTQ+ community centre and service provider. Serving Two-Spirit, Queer, and Trans communities from its facility in Toronto’s Church and Wellesley neighbourhood for 45 years, The 519 has long recognized the importance of equitable access to food. Every program and group they operate offers a food component, be it meals, snacks, grocery bags, or gift cards, and their programs offer a safe place for everyone.

With programs including the Older 2SLGBTQ+ Seniors’ Drop-in program, Meal Trans, Trans People of Colour Project (TPOC), Among Friends Refugee Support Group, Trans Youth Mentorship Program, and the decades-old Sunday Drop-in program, The 519 breaks down all barriers to access. 2SLGBTQ+ communities, especially racialized communities, are among the most food-insecure, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated the inequities in food access. High rates of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness have all driven the risk of food insecurity.

The 519 has been on the front lines every day during the pandemic. At the peak of the first wave in 2020, The 519 swiftly responded by mobilizing and redeploying staff, offering two free hot takeaway meals per day to folks in need. In January 2021, the program was reimagined to afford even more community members greater access to food. The 519 team now prepares and freezes hundreds of nutritious meals to allow folks to pick up a week’s worth of food in a single trip. Through its partnership with Second Harvest, The 519 has scaled up food production, and its meals are delivered to organizations across the city, from Downtown East to North York and the East End.

As of October 2021, The 519 has distributed 90,836 meals (hot and frozen) to the community on-site and 120,340 meals to other community organizations through their Second Harvest partnership. On top of that, 1,165 unique individuals have accessed the Frozen Meals program. Food is a universal language, representing a mechanism to bring people together, share pieces of each other, and bring about love and caring. “The frozen meals are more than a transactional experience,” says Carl Kannegiesser, Manager of Community Engaged Food Programs at The 519. “Through our meal service, we have gotten to know and connect with folks and support them with referrals and essential supplies. It is food that has brought us together in order to make those connections.”

Many people accessing

The 519’s meals service programs have acknowledged that while the food has been a critical tool for getting through these difficult times, the kindness and hospitality from staff and volunteers have been life-saving. A participant accessing the meals service program shared, “My government assistance does not give me enough money for groceries to last a month. I’m grateful and very thankful for your help during these challenging times.” The 519’s experience with COVID-19 and the dire need within their communities around food access has changed how they think about their food security initiatives. None of this work would be possible without community help and support. You can also support The 519’s food security initiatives today so that there is food for 2SLGBTQ+ communities, food for all.

JOIN. VOLUNTEER. DONATE. The 519 is a registered charity. Donate today at The519.org/donate