Every day, we witness homelessness on the streets, read about youth engaged in violence and drugs epidemic more dire. We hear stories of people who have lost everything in a fire or a natural disaster but are we doing anything to make difference?
According to Homeless hub’s report of 2016, 1 in 7 (or 4.9 million) people in Canada live in poverty. More families are becoming homeless. In 2016, families stayed in shelters twice as long as individuals and 89% of families in shelters were female-led. 62 shelters across Canada run at over 90% capacity on average with youth making up 18.7% of shelter users, while 4.2% are children
Children, adults, seniors or families that are living in shelters or accessing community programs such as drop-in centres or outreach programs, are not so different from an average Canadian. With the cost of living continuing to go up, rent prices soaring none and more families, are living from pay-cheque to pay-cheque.
According to Campaign 2000’s report card for 2017 on Child and Family poverty nearly 1 in 5 children (17.4%) live in poverty with their families.
Most families living in poverty are not able to afford the basic necessities.This can be isolating and we believe nobody should feel alone. If one has to access resources like a food bank to feed his or her family – he or she surely won’t be able to afford items like school supplies or toiletries. Everyone wants the same things as we all do – their families to be happy, healthy and safe. The question is how can we help?
We need our communities to be more impact-driven. We need to be willing to make a difference rather than just witnessing these problems. We need to be engaged and involved in our local communities but how do we get started?
We often receive phone calls from people saying, “ We are a group of people that want to do good but have no idea where to start.” We understand that it is difficult to find an opportunity that will allow a group to volunteer, not to mention if there is a specific date or time that you want to do it.
We’ve got the solution that is easy, affordable and better yet, FUN! Let’s get started in three easy steps –
Step 1- Choose a Cause – Choose a cause you want to support. It can be any cause – poverty homelessness, women’s empowerment, youth, education and mental health. We will match you to a local charity that supports your cause.
Step 2- Pack Kits – Host a Kit-packing event with your neighbours, employees or school friends. Make an impact by bringing your community together to pack Kits. We will ship you all of the supplies that you need to pack custom Kits for the charity you’ve chosen.
Step 3- Make an impact – Donate the packed Kits to your chosen local charity and celebrate the impact you made as a group.
Kits for a Cause is a social enterprise based in Toronto, powered by women who are passionate about giving back and building impact in our communities. The aim is to empower communities with increased engagement and provide local charities the items they need desperately need to support those who are in need. Kits for a Cause matches you to a local charity that best aligns with your cause and providing tools & resources to host a fun & memorable Kit-packing event. not only help you to pack Kits for a cause but also helps you pack impact in those kits!
Each Kit you donate brings hope to someone and helps make a difference. Kits for a Cause not only helps you in packing Kits but also helps you pack impact into each Kit.