With all the shopping and baking and party plans that go on around the Christmas season it’s easy to forget about those in need. The families who don’t have gifts for their kids this year or a big Christmas feast on the table., the animals who are helpless and look for our protection, the kids who will be celebrating in the hospital instead of at home, we have found some Fabulous ways you can share the Christmas spirit with those in need right in your own backyard.
| SickKids Get Better Gifts |
Gifts made through SickKids Get Better Gifts are donations towards the highest priority needs of The Hospital for Sick Children. There are a variety of gift choices at various costs, from books for the hospital reading room ($20 Cdn), a treasure trove of toys ($75 Cdn), a crib mattress ($400 Cdn) all the way up to medical equipment like child sized wheelchairs ($5,000 Cdn). When you select a SickKids Get Better Gifts item, you are in fact donating to SickKids Foundation, which makes your purchase eligible for a tax receipt.
| Phones for Food |
You’re probably familiar with the Food Banks of Canada and their food donation program but did you know your old cell phone can also benefit your local food bank?
If you’re planning on getting a new cell phone this holiday season why not donate your old cell to the Food Banks of Canada Phones for Food program. You can drop your old phones off at any Rogers or Fido location or print off a prepaid mailing label and send your phone in . One wireless device, depending on its age and condition, can generate an average of $2-$5 for a local food bank.
| Humaine Society of Canada Celebration Cards |
If you missed getting your Christmas cards out this year, why not start a new tradition and welcome the New Year with these celebration greeting cards supporting the Humaine Society of Canada. Choose one of their animal themed cards and they will send it along for you, including your personal note hand-written with a fountain pen. All donations to help animals and nature are gratefully acknowledged with a receipt for income tax purposes for the full amount of the donation.
| A Symbolic Acre of Canadian Habitat |
With deforestation and urban sprawl, ensure your kids and your kids’ kids that the natural wildlife and their habitats will remain intact across Canada. You can purchase a symbolic acre of Canadian habitat from the Nature Conservatory ($40 Cdn) or the habitat of a Burrowing Owl ($86 Cdn), Canadian Lynx ($120) or Grizzly Bear ($160 Cdn). For each donation you will also receive a certificate and a beautiful full-colour calendar depicting wildlife and landscapes from across Canada.
| Adopt an Owl (or Cougar or Grizzly |
Become a symbolic parent of an Owl, Cougar or Grizzly Bear when you purchase an adoption kit from The Land Conservancy in British Columbia. Each kit ($40 Cdn) includes a cuddly plush toy representing the animal you’ve adopted, a personalized adoption certificate and a fact-filled booklet that explains how this symbolic adoption will help save the owl, cougar or grizzly bear’s habitat. You will also receive a tax receipt for your $40 Cdn donation.
| Sports for Kids |
Your kids may be in hockey or taking a dance class. They love it and you understand the benefit these programs offer your kids, physically, emotionally and socially. Unfortunately not all kids are able to afford these programs. Canada Tire‘s Jumpstart offers you a way to help these kids through their Symbolic Gifts program. Give the gift of hockey ($200), dance ($125) or the simple gift of play ($50) to help another child benefit from organized sports.
| Children’s Wish Bowl |
Handcrafted by artisians, this Wish Bowl from NovaScotian Crystal is lovely to look at and a perfect place to hold a small treasure or to whisper a child’s wish. The Wish Bowl is a wonderful keepsake for a special child and with $35 from every bowl purchased going toward The Children’s Wish Foundation, the bowl becomes a wonderful gift by helping children with high-risk illnesses receive their wish.
Merry Christmas.