It was only a few years ago that Jim Gilligan opened an email from a Catholic Children’s Aid Foundation donor that stopped him cold in his tracks. 

It was nothing more than just a short thank-you note after he sent her a charitable tax receipt. At the end, the donor had written, very simply: “Thank you, Jim, for all the good work we do for our children."

Not “the children,” not “my children” or even “other people’s children” — our children. 

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“It sort of hit me right between the eyes because this was first person, plural, this was us, this was we, and for me, that was huge. That's the way our donors think of those children, as their own children. We see these families as ours, not just people from the community who happen to come in… No, they're ours, they're Catholics, more than just people from Toronto,” Gilligan said. 

The single word “ours” has become the quiet heartbeat behind everything the Catholic Children’s Aid Foundation is doing this Christmas through initiatives that make sure children and families are looked after in more ways than one. 

The first is through CCAF’s Adopt-a-Family Program, a staple the organization has been running upwards of 15 years. Assisting families being served by the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CCAS), donors who register for this program are anonymously matched with youth involved with child welfare and given a wish list of various needs and preferences of their matched family/child. From there, CCAS staff deliver Christmas gifts to each family before Christmas Eve. 

Gilligan, as CCAF  executive director, predicts that anywhere from 80 to 100 families will be supported through Adopt-a-Family this year, a peak that he attests can be quite the sight to see as donors graciously provide each December. 

“The room where we keep the gifts just keeps filling up as the weeks go on each year. It really hits the target very nicely that each family truly appreciates the support, often because they knew that they wouldn't be able to do this kind of thing themselves,” he said. 

CCAF also brought back its Coats for Kids campaign for this year, providing new winter coats to children in need. This year saw 384 coats delivered to CCAS families, with the Knights of Columbus matching every box. 

Meeting with Gilligan earlier in December were students from Northmount and De La Salle College "Oaklands," still nursing sugar highs from their own bake sales, which  helped finance some of the coats alongside private donors and other charitable institutions. Gilligan predicts as much as $1,440 was raised by the students' efforts.

On Dec. 4, those same students hand-delivered the coats to the CCAS office to be sent out to families during the Christmas season. For Gilligan, the opportunity to work with youth in a charitable manner was the highlight of the campaign. 

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“It really is a great thing for them to get involved at such a young age, and hopefully that will continue as they move forward. To see them so committed that way, to have the empathy that they do and to be able to come in and make such a big mark on the whole thing is incredible.”

And, to do so through the classic bake sale method was a welcome, nostalgic addition. 

“ The old bake sale, eh? How great is that?” he said. “If it works, it works.” 

Ensuring no child or family falls through the cracks, CCAF has also been active through its far-reaching Christmas Donations Program, where community members are able to donate everything from new, unwrapped toys to clothing and household items, or make secure financial contributions to fund gift cards and essentials. Each donation has helped provide Christmas meals and distribute much-needed items to families across Toronto.

Gilligan said that by early December, he had already amassed nearly $60,000 in gift cards that are expected to go out with gift bags or separately. He also confirmed that most are often used for food, further alleviating pressure felt by those in need this time of year. 

“When you look at the statistics, so many people in the City of Toronto fall beneath the poverty line, so the gift cards probably go more to food than to the other kind of Christmas gifts, but they're there to fill in the voids that might exist there — it's a great catchall.” 

CCAF even hosted a full traditional Christmas turkey dinner for youth in care at Toronto’s Hothouse restaurant on Dec. 13, giving those in attendance the full holiday spread with all the fixings.  

On the heels of a packed month of Christmas service, CCAF is taking the time to reflect on its trifecta of programming that looks after those, no matter the need. 

Be it a family able to open gifts on Christmas morning, a child zipping up a new coat or a teenager loading up a plate of dinner when they haven’t had a real holiday meal in years, the experience is set to feel closer to family than charity.

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That’s because, as that donor reminded Gilligan years ago, these aren’t someone else’s children. They’re ours. 

For more, visit ccafdn.ca/.