How You Can Help

Why Support Us?

For the Kids

We are just one social organization working to deal with the consequences of poverty in our region. But like so many of our sister organizations, the demand for our services continues to grow. In our 2010/2011 season, we distributed over 15,000 new snowsuits.

We are a Local Charity

Donations of money and used snowsuits go directly back into our community, to children who are the classmates and playmates of our children.

We are a Responsible Charity

Only the children of families truly in need get a snowsuit. We have a rigorous referral and application process to qualify those we help. We accept donations of used snowsuits, and we use funds raised to purchase new, quality snowsuits from Canadian manufacturers at incredibly low wholesale prices. A donation of $40.00 is all it takes to dress a child warmly. All clients who receive a winter clothing allowance through social assistance are charged a nominal $10 administration fee to help defray costs. Of course, our caring staff takes great care to ensure that families truly in need are looked after, regardless of their ability to pay. As we do not receive any government funding, we rely entirely on the generosity of private groups and individuals. We work very hard to ensure that we maximize the money received from these donors - 90 cents of every dollar received goes directly towards supplying snowsuits to our clientele.

Our Support is Broadly-Based

Over the years, the Fund has continued to expand its reach into the community, and today is supported by groups that range from the corporate sector to school children, from the media to members of local and regional councils, from service clubs to community centres. But in all of that, it is still the individual local citizen, who comes forward with used suits or cash donations, or who supports one of the many fundraising events and activities we undertake each year, that we count on most.

The Need is Real and Present

Every year, we anticipate requests for over 15,000 snowsuits - that's a lot of cold kids. And it's going to take a lot of donations of good used suits, plus a lot of cold cash -- nearly $850,000 is our target -- to keep them warm.