Caledon residents called to support neighbours in need during Season of Hope

November 23, 2023 · 0 Comments

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A local non-profit is fundraising to help Caledon residents in need over the holidays.

Caledon Community Services (CCS) recently launched its Season of Hope campaign, an annual drive for food, gift cards, and monetary donations used to help Caledon neighbours in need during the holiday season.

Some residents may know Season of Hope as the Santa Fund; the donation drive was renamed last year.

CCS asks for gift cards instead of toys so parents can shop for holiday gifts they know their children want or need.

This year, Mars Canada has partnered with CCS to match all monetary donations up to $25,000 so residents know their donation efforts are doubled.

CCS Chief Development Officer Mariia Kupriianova said the Caledon community always steps up this time of year. She gave the example of Caledon Hawks hockey, which runs an annual “Hawks for Hunger” food drive. Last year the Hawks collected over 7,000 pounds of food and will be coming to CCS this Sunday to make this year’s donation.

“In these unprecedented times… soaring inflation is impacting everybody,” said Kupriianova. “We’re seeing more and more people come through the door looking for support — people that are fully employed, even working two jobs.”

Kupriianova said the Season of Hope campaign is about making sure families have good food and something nice to give each other as gifts, providing hope in the tough winter months.

She said CCS is currently serving over 900 Caledon residents of all ages with support in areas like food and transportation.

“We invite our generous Caledon community to support us through donations of food to keep the food pantry shelves full,” said Kupriianova. “We invite our community to consider donating gift cards because this holiday season we will be providing our families with a little bit of extra special food, treats and gift cards for the holidays.”

Kupriianova said CCS is receiving wonderful support from individuals, businesses, community groups, schools and more.

“When life doesn’t go as planned, you need a caring hand to guide you through difficult times,” she said. “And times are certainly getting tougher.”

Caledon Fire and Emergency Services has also partnered with CCS for Season of Hope, and will be setting up drop-off areas for donations at fire stations across Caledon.

The following drop-off areas will be set up Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until December 6: Town Hall (6311 Old Church Road), Caledon Fire HQ (6211 Old Church Road), Bolton Fire Station (14002 Highway 50), Snelgrove Fire Station (2 Snelcrest Drive), Caledon Village Fire Station (3611 Charleston Sideroad), and Caledon OPP (15924 Innis Lake Road).

Donations can be dropped off at the Bolton Fire Station on Saturdays and Sundays too.

The Inglewood Fire Station will be accepting donations from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. during its breakfast with Santa event on December 3.

Food items can be donated directly to CCS at The Exchange in Bolton (55 Healey Road). It’s open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Those interested in learning more about, or donating to, this year’s Season of Hope campaign can visit ccs4u.org/donate/season-of-hope.

Kupriianova shared that thanks to Mars Canada’s matching gift donation, a monetary donation of $250 will heat two families’ homes for a month. A donation of $1,000 can feed two families of four for a month.

“We are really grateful for the kindness and generosity of our amazing community,” she said. “We are looking forward to bringing the Season of Hope to Caledon once again.”