Sonshine Community Service’s Adopt-a-Family program matches individuals, organizations, and groups to families in need with the goal to provide them with some relief during the Christmas season.The families supported by Adopt-a-Family come from many different walks of life, but all have one thing in common: their circumstances brought them to Sonshine looking for the support and healing they need.

The families supported by the program may be current residential clients of the Sonshine Centre, past residential clients now living in the community and connected with follow-up services, families who live in the community and are supported by our community counselling program, or families with children attending Sonshine Children’s Centre. Each one of them is in need of a helping hand and support this Christmas season.

All of our 2022 Families have been adopted! Thank you to our wonderful supporters for providing extra warmth, joy, and safety this holiday season.

If you’d like to provide support in other ways, our volunteer coordinator would be happy to connect with you. Please fill out this application form, and we’ll be in touch.

 

Sonshine offers two ways to be involved:

Adopt-a-Family (without a tax receipt)

You will be shopping for a specific family or for a specific client with no children, who has filled a wish list hoping that a generous donor will fulfill it. Sonshine will provide you with the wish list as soon as we receive it from the client/family. Naturally, the family or client will remain anonymous but the wish list will have information like age of children, sizes, their favorite color, hobbies, etc. to help you in your shopping. Once you have purchased the gifts, we take care of delivering them to the client.

As per CRA regulations, these personal gifts will not be eligible for a tax receipt as Sonshine will act as a simple intermediary between you and the family to protect the family’s privacy and your anonymity.

Adopt-a-Family (with a tax receipt)

You will be shopping to create a “standard hamper” that can be enjoyed by future single clients, or families with 1, 2, 3 or more children. Sonshine will provide you with a standard gift list that has listed a variety of items that are most often needed by our clients and their children. You can chose to shop for an hamper that will satisfy the need of a single client, or for a family with 1, 2, 3 or more children: it is up to you. Once you decide how big of a family you can support, you will receive the standard wish list from us and the shopping begins! These gifts will be eligible for a tax receipt, less GST per CRA rules.

Click here to read Adopt-a-Family FAQs and sample care package lists