CultureLink’s Eat at Home to Learn at Home campaign raised $7,417.87 to provide food for the children of schools in Parkdale and Toronto’s Downtown-West area.

It all started with our SWIS team, concerned for the newcomer families they were trying to help during the pandemic. Some of those families relied on Student Nutrition Programs to provide their children with a healthy meal. Then quarantine started and they lost access to those programs. We had to do something for them, so we asked for help. And help we got. We received more than 70 individual donations over the course of three weeks!

With the funds received, we have purchased grocery store gift cards that are currently being distributed to parents in the mentioned neighbourhoods. Each $50 gift card will help them secure food for their growing children while schools remain closed and they continue to learn from home.

We want to express our sincere gratitude to all donors and people who helped us spread the campaign. Because you share our concern for others and thanks to your generosity, we are able to make things a little easier for newcomer families starting a new life in Canada during these strange times.

A special thanks to our campaign partners, Roncesvalles Refugee Relief, for your dedication to welcoming newcomers in our communities, and also to the Parkdale-High Park Rotary Club for their generous donation.

The challenges of getting settled in a new country continue and have been intensified during the lockdown. CultureLink’s dedicated staff are working remotely from their own homes to ensure that our clients have access to important information and resources. Our programs and events have transitioned to online formats where possible. Because of these changes in our operations, our clients and community members continue to gather to learn, break the isolation, share experiences and navigate their lives with the needed support and encouragement found in a welcoming -online- community environment.