Celebrating and supporting our community during the holidays
December 13, 2024
By Marco Campana, Knowledge Mobilization and Social Action Coordinator, Access Alliance
You’re probably already seeing plenty of holiday celebrations and support projects, including appeals for donations and gifts to support community members in need in your social channels.
At Access Alliance, we’re also making plans to make the holidays festive for as many people as we can. We work in and serve amazing communities, and every year we celebrate with them.
This year we wanted to give you an idea of what that looks like, and also share where you can support our efforts. We are grateful to organizations who support and sponsor our events as well as community groups doing amazing work that we can partner with to bring holiday cheer to our clients.
Thank you to all our donors, partners, volunteers, and staff!
These holiday initiatives would have been impossible without the incredible support from our donors, our partner agencies, dozens of volunteers, and of course our extraordinarily dedicated staff across all sites.
If you would like to help support our work and bring cheer to a family in our community, please donate here. Your generous donation will enable us to reach through the cracks to connect with and support the most marginalized members of society, making our community stronger.
How We Are Celebrating
Through the generous support of BMO we served 400 community members at our annual AccessPoint on Danforth Holiday Dinner. The holiday dinner brought community members together to connect with each other, learn more about our and our partners’ programs and services, and celebrate together while enjoying a delicious meal.
AccessPoint on Danforth is a place where community youth connect, learn, and come together. We held a festive celebration for youth aged 12 – 24 that brought them together to celebrate, play games, win prizes, share a delicious meal, and enjoy music and dance.
Our Among Friends Program brings 2SLGBTQI+ newcomers together to create community and support each other, and also to celebrate! Our Holiday Party offers another opportunity for our community to come together in a supportive and joy-filled celebration.
At AccessPoint on Jane we brought the community together to celebrate the season through food, music, activities, and gifts.
We’re grateful for our communities, and that we can celebrate some holiday cheer with them!
How We Are Supporting
The holiday season can be a difficult and isolating time for some in the communities we serve. It can be hard for families who are not able to afford gifts for their children. We’re extremely grateful for programs our families can access to make this time of year a bit easier, and more full of cheer. This includes the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund Box, which delivers a gift box that contains a hoodie, hat, mitts, book, toy, candy, and a toothbrush to children 0 – 12 years old.
At AccessPoint on Jane we partner with Holiday Helpers to support children of low-income families, including newcomers, refugees, and those who do not have health insurance. Families receive various gift items based on their wish list.
You Can Support our Holiday Hamper Program at Our Barrington Site
Our yearly Holiday Hamper Program supports low-income and newcomer families at our Barrington site. Last year we were to support 108 families (234 children and 181 adults!) to have a memorable and cheerful holiday. To support our Holiday Hamper program you can donate on our website (choose Holiday Hampers in the “In order to support” selection), Adopt-a-Family, or make an in-kind donation. This year we’re looking for in-kind donations of:
- Grocery gift cards such as Metro, Sobeys, No-frills or FreshCo
- Gift items such as new handbags, jewelry, makeup, clothing, books, video games.
Contact childandfamily@accessalliance.ca for more information.
Find out more in this Instagram video: