Holiday in the Hood
Come join the Earl Beatty Public School community today and tomorrow and for the 5th Annual Holiday in the Hood. Friday 4-8 pm and Saturday 10-4 pm.
Everyone can start holiday shopping from the talented local vendors at our Artisan sale. Kids can explore the Just for Kids Craft sale where all gifts are $5 or less. Visit Santa for photos and don’t miss the world famous bake sale!! Lastly, you can bring some gently used books for children newborn-age 12 for the Children’s Book Bank book drive, organized by Butterfly Books.
DECA Pride Mingle – donations wanted
In addition to the usual social event happening on Sunday from 3:30-5:30pm, this month our group will be collecting winter clothing and other items listed below for a group of 40 recently arrived LGBTQ+ refugees in the east end. This will be the first Canadian winter for all of these newcomers and they are in desperate need of warm winter gear, personal care products, and used phones.
LGBTQ+ refugee claimants and convention refugees are particularly vulnerable and very few in this group are sponsored or receiving other supports. Many are living in shelters (which are notoriously unsafe for LGBTQ-identified folks).
Items Requested:
– Winter gear including warm coats, boots, socks, gloves, and hats.
– Personal hygiene products including lip balm (Chap Stick), body lotion, and bottles of Vitamin D. Most of the refugees they work with come from places with much more sunshine than Toronto and are susceptible to illnesses associated with Vitamin D deficiency. Pads and tampons would also be helpful.
– Used cell phones that are in good working condition. If you’ve upgraded your phone and still have an old one in a drawer, please consider donating it! It’s a lifeline for someone who is otherwise totally disconnected.
For details of this event, read our previous blog post here. All are welcome!
And don’t forget
DECA’s Festival of Lights is on Saturday from 5-6pm and we are taking donations of non-perishable food for the Community 55 food drive.