Sponsor a family living in the Durham Region

Our Durham program is now closed for Sponsoring a Family Wishlist, however you can still donate online and bring the magic of Christmas to a local family.

How it Works...

  1. Determine the size of family you would like to sponsor.
    • This will depend on your budget and how many people are in your group
    • We recommend planning to spend a minimum of $200 per family member, plus $125 for a grocery gift card
    • Example: to sponsor a family of 2 people, you should budget $525 ($200 for the parent + $200 for the child + $125 for a grocery gift card.)
  2. Sign Up: When you have an idea of the family size, scroll to the bottom of this page, fill in the form.
    • You will be added to a waitlist. Wishlists will be sent out in order of signing up, but are usually not ready until October.
    • Wishlists take time to complete and will be sent as soon as possible (usually in October/November)
  3. Wishlist: Once it's ready, Holiday Helpers will email you a wish list for an actual family. The list will included their first name, gender, age, clothing/household/toy requests
  4. Shopping: Now it's the fun part! You will shop for items from their list.
    • You are NOT obligated to purchase everything on the wish list. Focus on these items: winter coat/snow suit, hat and mitts, 2 "Santa toys" for each child, 2 "household items" for the parent. If you are able to purchase more, it will all be passed onto the family.
    • The presents must be brand new (no used items) and unwrapped
  5. Drop-off: You will be expected to drop off the presents at the designated centre by the deadline in early December.
    • Once the items are dropped off, they are sorted, checked for safety, and packaged for delivery.
  6. Delivery: The package will be delivered or picked up by the family before Christmas.
  7. Thank-you: We do ask all the families to provide a thank-you letter telling us about their Christmas experience. Those letters will be forwarded to you in January to March.

DURHAM WAREHOUSE LOCATION

Coming Soon

PLEASE NOTE: We are NOT able to provide a tax receipts for gifts given to the family. 

Our packages bring Christmas joy, but they also offer poverty-relief items like winter snow suits, warm hats & mitts, household items (i.e. warm blankets, small appliances) and a grocery gift card that can be put towards a warm meal.

Holiday Helpers is your one-stop full-service charity for Christmas sponsorship. Our goal is to help you bring Christmas joy to families in need with young children.

Questions about sponsoring a family?

Contact us at info@holidayhelpers.org

Families in the Durham are referred to us from some of the following agrencies: