{"id":37257,"date":"2025-11-27T13:26:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T18:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=37257"},"modified":"2025-11-27T13:26:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T18:26:16","slug":"girls-inc-aims-to-help-25-families-this-holiday-season-through-hamper-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/girls-inc-aims-to-help-25-families-this-holiday-season-through-hamper-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Girls Inc. aims to help 25 families this holiday season through Hamper Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Girls Inc. of York Region is looking for your help to make the holidays that much brighter for 25 area families in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Aurora-based non-profit, which provides mentorship opportunities for youth in the community, kicked off its Holiday Hamper campaign on Friday when they formally opened their new offices at 154 Wellington Street East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe campaign provides low-income families, whose children regularly participate in Girls Inc. programs and services, with a holiday hamper containing essential items, seasonal goods, and gift cards for children\u2019s presents and groceries,\u201d says Girls Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hampers include grocery gift cards, a gift card for parents to purchase an item from their child\u2019s wish list, hygiene supplies, warm clothing items, a small gift for each child, all topped with something the entire family can enjoy, such as a board game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community members, businesses, and groups can support the campaign by sponsoring a family or otherwise making a financial contribution to the campaign. Every little bit helps and if you\u2019re not in a position to support the initiative financially, boosting their efforts through word-of-mouth is always welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy providing gift cards and carefully curated hampers, the campaign ensures parents retain choice and dignity while meeting specific needs of their children,\u201d says Girls Inc. \u201cThis approach not only provides practical support, but also fosters a sense of empowerment and holiday spirit for families. The Holiday Hamper Campaign is part of Girls Inc.\u2019s ongoing commitment to empower the whole girl by supporting families, promoting wellbeing, and ensuring every girl and member of her family has what she needs to succeed and be strong, smart and bold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barb Wallace, Executive Director of Girls Inc. of York Region, says the initiative was inspired by the \u201cclear need we were seeing\u201d in the community to \u201cbring a sense of holiday magic to children in low-income families while empowering parents with a choice \u2013 choice to shop for their own children, and choice to purchase culturally-relevant groceries that honour their family\u2019s traditions and dietary needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen finances are tight, the holidays can be overwhelming for parents who want to give their children a joyful experience,\u201d says Wallace. \u201cOur aim is to ease that pressure and ensure families feel supported and valued. Providing gift cards is intentional. It allows parents to choose what their child truly wants or needs. We\u2019re not just supplying gifts, we\u2019re supporting families with dignity and choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor many children, the holiday season is where lasting memories are made. A small gift card or a shared family activity can spark joy and connection, something every child deserves. When someone sponsors a family or donates to the campaign, that generosity has an immediate impact. You\u2019re not only contributing, you\u2019re becoming a part of the family\u2019s holiday experience. The Holiday Hamper Campaign is part of our commitment to supporting the whole girl. When families feel secure and supported, girls are better able to learn, grow and build confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe holidays can be isolating for families facing financial hardship. This campaign reminds them they are not alone, their community is standing with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wallace notes there is a particular need for gift cards and other items for teens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toys have been generously supported by the CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Budgets can be tight for everyone around the holiday season and if you can\u2019t contribute to this campaign, consider your plans for New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re celebrating in style in a dress you might only wear once, Girls Inc. will soon launch its annual Dress Drive to support Grade 8 and Grade 12 grads look their best at graduation and prom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you have your New Year\u2019s Eve dress or a chance to clean out your closet and you\u2019ve got fancy shoes, party dresses and things like that, we are collecting them for girls to go to graduation and prom,\u201d says Wallace. \u201cWe collect them, we go through them, and we set up a big event where hairdressers come in, makeup companies donate makeup, and we have all kinds of gifts for the girls to help them celebrate their special day. It\u2019s hard to get all that done [during Prom season], and we really focus on low-income girls, but we serve all girls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on how to support the ongoing Holiday Hamper Campaign or the upcoming Dress Drive, visit girlsincyork.org or call 905-830-0776.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Girls Inc. of York Region is looking for your help to make the holidays that much brighter for 25 area families in need. The Aurora-based non-profit, which provides mentorship opportunities for youth in the community, kicked off its Holiday Hamper campaign on Friday when they formally opened their new offices at 154 Wellington Street East. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-11-27-06.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9GV","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-29 18:30:21","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37259,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37257\/revisions\/37259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}