There are a lot of people sharing their amazing efforts in the community online and we thought we would jump in with some of the great Toronto charities we have worked with or admire.
It is easier than ever to make an impact on your community with the help of these groups. Whether you have time, money or other things that can be valuable to those in need, there is a way to help. Here is our list. Let us know who you support with #TheGivingEffect on social media.
The New Mom Project was started by Torontonian Gwen Broda, who after hearing about Finland’s new mother packages, thought that Canadians should adopt the same practice. She started the organization to provide marginalized new mothers with basic needs to get them started.
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Jessie’s Centre is a great resource centre for pregnant teens, young parents and their children in downtown Toronto. They provide assistance like respite, lunches, parenting classes, a medical clinic, a high school, and counselling to a vulnerable group.
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Fight to End Cancer began in 2012 by Kingsway boxing owner and international boxing referee Jennifer Huggins. The annual event has white collar participants train for months as they fundraise to raise money for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. The fundraising is capped off by a huge gala night where the fighters go against each other in a ring at the Old Mill. Dinner and auctions also provide more fundraising power.
Learn how you can get involved here.
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Kiwanis Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada I have worked with youth programs, after school programs, youth sports and the boys and girls clubs of Canada throughout my teens and university days. These programs are so important and would be very grateful of extra community support. The Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club is located in downtown Toronto and provides many youth programs that give parents the freedom to work and kids the active and social lives they need to flourish.
Learn more about how you can help.
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Camp Awakening provides summer camps to youth with physical disabilities ages 9-18 at Camp Kilcoo and Camp Oconto. Their goal is to provide the campers with the ability to increase their independence, learn new skills, develop confidence and make lasting friendships.
Learn how you can help out with Camp Awakening.
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SickKids Foundation raises funds for science and medical advancements to improve the lives of children. Since 1972, the foundation has raised funds for the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Check out one of their videos.
Learn more about SickKids Foundation from their website.
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Not Far From the Tree asks Torontonians who have fruit trees to donate their bounty that they don’t use. Volunteers will come to your home and pick the trees, sharing the resources with the tree owner, the volunteers and the Daily Bread Food Bank which fights hunger in our communities.
Learn more about Not Far From the Tree here.
Learn about the Daily Bread Food Bank here.
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The Stop Community Food Centre have been running programs aimed at providing healthy food, building skills, good health, hope, and community while confronting the underlying issues that lead to poverty and hunger in Toronto. Their programs range in scope providing drop-in meals, a food bank, community kitchens and gardens, perinatal and family support, civic engagement, as well as children and youth education.
Learn more about what The Stop does and how to help.
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Soup Kitchens come in many forms. I worked for a year at the Salvation Army Shelter and Soup Kitchen in Vancouver that is very similar to the one on Jarvis between Queen Street East and Shuter St. Shifts were around 4 hours when I was there and you make the meal with a team and then serve it to people from the community. It is best to volunteer for an extended period of time as it can be annoying to constantly bring in new people to help.
Search for Toronto Soup Kitchens.
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Furniture Bank is a local charity that has brought furnishings to homes for 70,000 people who could not afford to do so themselves. Through donations by people like you and me, many people can now live with dignity and lead a better life. I recently heard about this cause after the post I did with the founder of Endy Sleep who recently donated a bunch of mattresses to the cause.
Learn more about Furniture Bank.
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Blessings in a Backpack provides bags of food for kids to take home from school on weekends. Many kids on food programs are provided food Mon-Fri but do not receive stuff on the weekends. Through these bags of nourishment, vulnerable youth can be guaranteed food on the weekends. It only takes $120 for 1 child a YEAR. A couple of years ago we teamed up with Canadian company Herschel Supply Co. to provide 50 bags for the cause. Another Canadian company, Nature’s Path, jumped on board with us and donated 50 boxes of cereals and grains to add to the bags.
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Sojourn House has been around since 1987. The housing and settlement organization helps new Canadians get comfortable in their new homeland by providing solutions for many problems that newcomers face. Transitional housing, new housing access and maintenance, outreach programs, food programs and youth skills programs are all apart of their programming.
Learn more about Sojourn House on their website.
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Lifeline Syria focusses only on the assistance of resettling Syrian refugees that have arrived in Canada after Civil War turned their country into a melting pot. Through recruitment, training and assistance of sponsors in Toronto, Lifeline Syria is able to make a big impact on the lives of many by responding to a humanitarian crisis, helping to integrate newcomers into Canadian society and providing Syrian family’s already in Canada a chance to be reunited with their families.
Learn more about Lifeline Syria on their website.
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Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto provide great mentoring through their matching process with volunteers and youth. Working with the next generation is a blessing and can change the life of a young Torontonian forever. The best ages to apply as a mentor are between 21 and 35.
See their website for more info.
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FEAT is an organization that provides support for children with incarcerated parents. There are 50,000 children in Ontario with at least one parent imprisoned in the justice system. This makes the youth more vulnerable as they face more family instability, economic insecurity, societal stigmatization as well as a compromised self-esteem, trust, and sense of security in their familial relationships. FEAT is a great cause doing a lot of good in our city.
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Performing Arts Lodges Toronto provides affordable housing as well as services in the areas of health and well-being to retired performing artists. Their building is located on Esplanade near Jarvis and is always at max capacity. Any extra help from the community would be amazing!
“Performing Arts Lodges of Toronto: An Artistic Sanctuary for over Two Decades.”
Visit the website for PAL Toronto.
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Use #TheGivingEffect on social media to let us know your favourite charities in Toronto and what they do. We love to support local causes.
