WINDFALL BASICS
- Clothing Basics
- basic clothing, e.g. underwear, socks, t-shirts, jeans, sweats, tops, pants, sleepwear, sweaters
- Work Basics
- job-related clothing, e.g. suits, skirts, pants, shirts, tops, ties, belts, shoes
- general labour items, e.g. work boots, outdoor work wear, jeans, hats
- Winter Basics
- winter coats, boots, hats, mittens, clothing, accessories
- Personal Basics
- shampoo, soap, razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant
- Home Basics
- housewares, pots & pans, dishes, utensils, comforters, blankets
“Thank you to Windfall. I make a very low wage and cannot afford new clothes in retail stores. Your program has provided me and my family with warm sock, t-shirts, jeans and nice winter hats, mitts, scarves and neck warmers. Thank you so much for allowing me to dress my family appropriately.”
-Hedara, Eastview Neighbourhood Community Centre
“Birkdale Residence is a temporary, emergency shelter for abused women, new families to the country, families who have been evicted from their homes, fire victims or families who are unable to obtain housing in the community.... Windfall’s contribution to our organization provides many women and children with a warm winter, a comfortable spring and a cool summer. The dignity and pride of our families remain intact because of your organization”
-Birkdale Residence, Community and Neighbourhood Services
KIDS’ BASICS
The Kids' Basics Program collects and distributes brand new children’s clothing and other basic-needs items to social service agencies and programs working with Toronto’s most needy children aged 0 to 19 years.
The problems these children are facing include: abuse, poverty, homelessness, parental drug abuse and crime, immigration and settlement. The agencies working with these children (and in many cases, their families as well) face multiple challenges.
The agencies have clearly identified the need to assist the children by providing them with new itemsg. The clothing and other basic-needs items are needed not only for pride, dignity, self-esteem and feelings of being cared for, but also for participation in school activities. During the cold Canadian winters a snowsuit or coat, boots, hats and mittens are basic necessities of life.
- Clothing Basics: Kids
- basic clothing, e.g. underwear, socks, t-shirts, jeans, sweats, tops, pants, sleepwear, sweaters
- Winter Basics: Kids
- snowsuits, jackets, boots, hats, mittens, clothing
- School Basics: Backpacks
- backpacks full of school supplies, e.g. pencils, pens, markers, binders, calculators, dictionaries, paper, tissues, hand sanitizers
- Comfort Basics: Jo’s Snowflake Program
- backpacks full of comforting items e.g. clothing, pajamas, slippers, toothbrushes, toys, books, underwear, facecloths, for children of all ages who are entering a shelter
EMPLOYMENT BASICS
- Community Living Toronto Partnership
- job training placement for people with intellectual challenges who are training in basic work skills in the warehouse. Includes a supervisor from TCL. Support from the Harry E. Foster Foundation has provided a wage stipend, bus passes and lunch money for this special and invaluable workforce
- Clients placed at Windfall from other job training agencies to learn basic back-to-work skills, usually in the warehouse or administrative capacities
- Windfall makes it a practice to hire difficult-to-employ clients for short-term contracts and casual labour
- new placement partnership with Toronto Employment and Social Services through the Invest in Neighbourhoods Initiative provides a year-long placement for trainees
“This has been a very rewarding experience for all involved. The trainees have been able to benefit from working at Windfall by developing many work related skill such as work pace, fine motor skills, group work skills, concentration, attention to detail, and quality assurance to name a few. Our participants enjoy their success. They attend gladly, work hard, and share a camaraderie that is a pleasure to experience.”
– Work Placement Supervisor, Community Living Toronto
“Thank you for providing me clothes for my interview. I don’t know what I would have done at the last minute. I came to Gateway looking for help to find a job and the next day I was called for an interview and my counselor said we have clothes and I had a look and found something and had a wonderful interview. Thank you.”
-Simone O., Gateway Cafe
HOW YOU CAN HELP
School Basics: Backpacks
For a $25 tax-deductible cash donation you can send a child facing crisis and poverty back to school with a brand-new backpack full of new school supplies. The retail value of the backpack and supplies is over $65!
OR you can organize a backpack day at your workplace and have everyone bring in backpacks and school supplies. Here are the items needed:
Backpacks, three-hole loose-leaf paper, binders, crayons, pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers, markers, coloured pencils, pencil cases, geometry sets, notebooks, dictionaries, thesauruses, paper scissors, lunch bags, sharpeners, glue sticks, rulers, tissue packs, report folders, hand sanitizers, calculators, batteries, and lip balms.
Call us at 416-703-8435 to make a credit card donation over the phone or use the Donate Now button on our front page to donate through Canada Helps. (Pull down Fund menu and select Backpack Program.)
The following companies/groups have generously donated to our KIDS' BASICS program:
Stonegate Private Counsel
Rotary Club of Toronto Charitable Foundation
Royal Bank Foundation
Bic Canada
Esselte Canada
Scholastic
Humbervale Montessori School
Gillian Stamp, Maureen Peters & Cindy Dallaire of Hatch's Social Committee who raised $1,000 for the School Basics: Backpacks Program.
PACKING DAY
Our packing day last summer was a huge success! Our incredible volunteers packed 1,200 new backpacks full of school supplies! We were thrilled with a visit from CTV's Tom Brown, CityTV's Audra Brown and OMNI TV who all helped us get the word our to their viewers. Also thanks to The Auroran and David Falconer who came to do a follow-up story on the kids from Aurora.
Volunteers packing the backpacks.
WINTER BASICS: KIDS
For a $25 tax-deductible cash donation you can provide a child facing crisis and poverty with a brand-new snowsuit or jacket OR hold your own event to raise money for Winter Basics: Kids. The Charger Foundation organizes an annual golf tournament with all the proceeds going to ensure that all children living in Toronto have adequate winter clothing.
Charger Foundation Board Member, Paul Cloutier (l), Charger Foundation Chair, Louis Sapi (m) and Charger Foundation Admin Assistant, Marcia Niles (r) with children from Alexandra Park Community Centre
Children and teachers from Hillmount PS and Samuel Hearne PS join executives from the Charger Foundation at a cheque presentation at the Windfall warehouse.
KEEP KIDS WARM CAMPAIGN
Child who received jacket being interviewd by CITYTV.
PLEASE HELP US MAKE SURE THAT ALL CHILDREN IN OUR CITY HAVE PROPER WINTER COATS, HATS, MITTS, BOOTS AND SCARVES THIS WINTER. YOUR DONATIONS WILL HELP US PURCHASE DESPERATELY NEEDED WINTER COATS AND ACCESSORIES FOR CHILDREN WHO HAVE NOTHING. EVERY DOLLAR DONATED PROVIDES $28 WORTH OF WINTER BASICS FOR KIDS IN NEED.
All the time, children come into our Centre with coats that should be in the garbage. Their snowsuits and coats are ripped, dirty, old, the wrong size and not warm enough. The children get frostbite on their hands and faces. They desperately need coats, hats, mitts, boots and scarves. So many are recent immigrants and refugees – they have nothing.
Rosemarie M.
River Oak Parent/Child Centre