Advent Giving: Caregivers’ Wish List
Let’s show our neighbours some love this Advent season, sharing from the abundance God has given us.
Our Caregivers & Kids Gathering is a safe place for young families—especially moms—experiencing poverty to come rest, play, talk, reflect and grow in community together.
The Caregivers & Kids Gathering began in 2022 after a process of surveying needs in our community and gaps in service provision from nearby organizations. We also considered our church’s capacity and resources to safely offer support to those in need in our city. Creating a supportive space for caregivers with young children was the resulting goal.
The handful of caregivers that initially connected with our gathering knew our church from our youth dinner and food bank, a fruitful ministry of 20 years. We were grateful to honour these relationships and continue to walk with these families.
Now, after 3 years, our gathering meets twice a month and connects with about 20 young families with new connections continuing to emerge. We’re so grateful for the faithful volunteers who help us graciously host—God has moved through you to show his love and create safe space for conversations about both the good and the challenging parts of life! We rejoice in the hopeful stories emerging of reconciling conflicts, successful connections to important resources like health care, and celebrating secured housing arrangements that help kids stay with their moms.
This season, we are glad to report that members of our congregation have been matched with every child of our Gathering to provide Christmas gifts. In addition to the joy of toys, we want to equip these families with everyday items they’ll need through the year.
This Advent, we’re asking our church family to consider giving some much needed everyday items to support our neighbours. Let's live into the generous ways of Jesus and make sure the most vulnerable in our city experience his love.
Caregivers’ Wish List
Families connected to our gathering have made a list of their most-needed items. As part of your offering through Advent, consider purchasing a few items to donate from the category of the week.
ADVENT 1 / NOV 30 — NUT-FREE SNACKS
fruit sauce pouches
granola bars
snack crackers, like goldfish
raisin boxes
ADVENT 2 / DEC 7 — DIAPER CARE
diapers - sz 2, 3, 4, 5
pull ups - sz 2T/3T, 3T/4T, or 4T/5T
wipes
ADVENT 3 / DEC 14 — KIDS CRAFT BASICS
sketch books, coloured paper
pencils, pens, erasers, sharpeners
crayons, markers, pencil crayons
glue sticks, stickers, stencils/stamps
play dough, plasticine, air dry clay
ADVENT 4 / DEC 21 — BATH TIME
kids’ or adult shampoo/conditioner
soap
lotion - kid-friendly
Donations should be new and in original packaging.
Donations can be dropped off on Sundays at worship or during weekday office hours.
Also, you can order online for delivery to the church—send to:
Mirim Kim c/o Knox Presbyterian Church
630 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON, M5S 2H4
(please note the church office is closed on Saturdays)
Email any questions to sam@knoxtoronto.org.
