The holiday season is often spent sharing meals, giving gifts and enjoying a bit of downtime with family and friends. But it’s also a time for offering extra support to our communities.
Ottawa, like many major centres, has seen an increase in the need for community care and support services. Many charities are reporting higher-than-average requests for assistance across all demographics.
With both winter and the season of giving upon us, the Kitchissippi Times has put together a non-exhaustive list of local charities and organizations that offer opportunities to support communities, individuals and even furry family members throughout the giving season.
Christmas Smiles For Seniors
Christmas Smiles For Seniors is a local, volunteer run organization with the goal “to bring a smile to lonely seniors by remembering them at the most festive time of year.”
Tracing back to 2000, CSFS began when Major Darren Steele was posted to Ottawa. Away from his family and friends, he began thinking of others who might also be alone during the holidays, particularly seniors. He decided to visit a local retirement home to see if he could bring gifts for the residents, and the following year some co-workers in the Canadian Armed Forces joined him.
Steele died in 2006, but the program has continued to grow in the years since, with others in both the CAF and the civilian community pitching in to support seniors in Ottawa.
Chantal Langevin, a local elf and coordinator of the Kitchissippi region within the program, says they serve a variety of locations throughout Ottawa, with drop-off points and a team of elves in most wards across the city.
“We serve residences, organizations, OCH buildings, resource and community centres, and hospitals. These include those who are stuck on hospital floors, in retirement homes, living independently, those with disabilities, and we’re currently connecting with a residence that serves the unhoused population.”
Langevin is currently in need of items to fill gifts that didn’t show up, to top up gifts that feel a little light, and last minute requests. For specifics, there is an Amazon Wish List available.
For more information on Christmas Smiles For Seniors, visit their website, or reach out to Chantal directly at chantal.smilesforseniors@gmail.com.
Caring and Sharing Christmas Exchange Program
The Caring and Sharing Christmas Exchange Program is another Ottawa-based initiative, originating in 1915 as a response to families affected by the First World War. Acting as a master list for Christmas aid, the exchange program allowed local charity groups to coordinate and share efforts to ensure families in need received support, while also checking for duplications.
Director Zuzanna Kucharki described the organization as offering two main types of assistance.
“There’s the food hamper program where families or individuals receive a full hamper of food that they can prepare their holiday meals with.”
“Then there’s the redeemable voucher program. We work with Giant Tiger to receive a great discount with them – families receive vouchers to Giant Tiger that are redeemable across the different locations in the city of Ottawa to be able to purchase their holiday meals.”
Kucharski says the charity has noticed a significant shift in need this year. Rather than specific communities requiring assistance, such as refugees fleeing wars in particular parts of the world, this year they’re seeing requests across all demographics.
“Many people are struggling in some kind of form, across Ottawa. But the great thing about our program is that we work with 200 community organizations that know their community. There’s so many agencies involved – supporting Indigenous communities, supporting newcomers and they know their clients best.”
Once registered, recipients are either delivered Christmas hampers shortly before Christmas Day, or receive vouchers in the mail.
Kucharski says their biggest current need is monetary donations. Many of their regular donors send cheques through the mail, but due to the Canada Post strike in November, that wasn’t possible this year.
Another way to participate include the Running On Empties campaign this year, held on Dec. 20. You simply need to return your bottles and cans to any Beer Store location, making sure to let them know you wish to donate the proceeds towards Caring For Sharing.
For more information on how to donate, please visit the Caring and Sharing Christmas Exchange Program page on the charity’s website.
Ottawa Shoebox Holiday Drive
The Shoebox Project was founded in 2011 by 4 sisters from Toronto who noticed many opportunities to give to children throughout the winter holiday season, but nothing specific for their female caregivers.
Their initial goal that first season was to fill 156 shoeboxes – enough to serve women staying in one of the local shelters.
They wound up receiving 400 shoeboxes, and have continued the tradition, growing across the country every year.
The Ottawa branch, coordinated by Mary Ann Fitzsimmons and Marci Morris, has 10 drop-off locations throughout the region. These locations hold shoeboxes for weekly pick-ups by volunteer drivers, who transport them to the staging area at Zibi in Gatineau.
An ideal shoebox donation consists of approximately fifty-dollars worth of gifts and essentials for women, with many donations including a message of support or holiday greeting.
To learn how to make a shoebox, how to donate or how to volunteer, visit their website. A list of city-wide drop off locations can also be found there.
Shawna’s Outreach
Recently featured in the Kitchissippi Times, Shawna’s Outreach is a grassroots, donation based, community support operation dedicated to serving unhoused and homeless people across Ottawa.
Shawna Thibodeau spends her days collecting donations from a variety of drop spots across the city, putting items into care packages in her home, and then hitting the streets.
Her care packages contain a wide range of items – from hand warmers to sleeping bags to gift cards to toiletries and personal hygiene supplies – you name it, Shawna will find someone who needs it.
For more information on what to give or where to drop off items, you can reach out via Facebook or emailshawnasoutreach@gmail.com.
She also has an Amazon Wishlist for those that are unsure of what to donate. Items will be shipped to Thibodeau in order to be included in care packages.
Ottawa Paw Pantry
Looking for a way to support our furry friends this giving season?
Volunteer run and a non-profit registered charity, the Ottawa Paw Pantry operates as a food bank – but for pets.
They rely on community donations to support low-income pet owners in times of need.
Bowlful of Heart is the organization’s annual holiday pet food drive and runs throughout December. Its goal is to support pet owners who may be struggling to choose between feeding themselves or their pets. The holiday season is often a time when shelters see an increase in pet surrenders — the Ottawa Paw Pantry aims to help families avoid having to make that choice.
The Ottawa Paw Pantry accepts unopened, unexpired food at a variety of locations throughout the city. You can also sign up to support through monetary donations or to volunteer.
Refugee 613
Born as a response to the Syrian refugee crisis in the mid-2010s, Refugee 613 is a grassroots initiative that welcomes refugee newcomers by providing information and connections to help them navigate their new surroundings.
Depending on how and why people had to leave their previous home, moving to a new community can be exhausting, stressful, and at times traumatizing. Refugee 613 aims to support people with a wraparound approach, offering advice and services for every facet of their new lives.
A variety of stakeholders from a wide cross-section of Ottawa agencies participate by providing settlement services, private sponsorships, mental health support, contacts with local schools, municipal government support, refugee shelters, and many more.
Refugee 613 welcomes monetary donations, noting that “financial contributions are the most effective way to support refugee settlement and integration…By donating money, you give local agencies the flexibility to direct your donation exactly where it is needed most.”
To donate to Refugee 613, visit the donations page through the organization’s website.
Minwaashin Lodge
Providing a range of programs and services to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women and children, Minwaashin Lodge supports survivors of domestic and other forms of violence, as well as those suffering from the effects of the residential school system.
Like many charitable organizations in the Ottawa region, Minwaashin looks for donations of winter items as the seasons change from autumn to colder weather.
One way they distribute seasonal supplies to their clients is through their Winter Solstice Giveaway, which provides families and individuals with a winter hamper of food items, clothing items, or both.
A wishlist of items – including gently used or new winter clothing such as coats, mitts, hats, and boots – can be dropped off at 2323 St. Laurent Boulevard. Additionally, Minwaashin has an Amazon Wishlist which donors can request be delivered directly to the lodge.
Lilith Hancock, Family Wellness Worker, said “we need everything. We could use more donations, we can always use more volunteers – honestly, whatever people or organizations in the community are able to help with.”
“If people are interested in helping out, the website is the perfect first step to find a contact. And if not, our website has our reception phone number and they will direct them to the appropriate person.”
The deadline for both hamper applications through the Winter Solstice Giveaway and donations specific to the giveaway is Dec. 5, 2025 – but the lodge is always accepting of ways for people to help, regardless of time of year.
As a registered charity, Minwaashin also accepts financial donations through their Canada Helps page.
For more information on how to volunteer, visit the “Get Involved” page on the organization’s website.