Happy New Year Toronto West! Donate Before the Clock Strikes Midnight!

I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Before the clock "strikes midnight", please consider a donation for your favourite organisation. Most donations to various charities are tax deductible, and your generosity could truly make a difference. Through the years my husband and I were lucky enough to be able to contribute financially or as volunteers to the work of the following organisations or charities that I would like you to keep in mind when making a donation.
Do not forget about your local schools either. Many educational institutions are looking for ways to enhance the educational programs they provide to their students. Get in contact with your local schools in order to find out how can you help.
Most Sincerely,
Eva Ballentine

The Redwood Shelter in Toronto provides the emotional, practical and social support that families need to get their lives back on track – they offer free and confidential services in 20 different languages, including assistance to women and children trapped in an abusive home through outreach visits and educational workshops at local schools, libraries, housing co-ops, churches, mosques, and other community gathering places. Over 80% of the women leaving The Redwood do not return to their abusive partners. At The Redwood, thousands of women and children found the way out.

The AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) delivers responsive, effective, and valued community-based HIV support services and education, prevention, outreach and fundraising programs that promote the health, well-being, worth and rights of individuals and communities living with, affected by and at risk for HIV/AIDS, and increase awareness of HIV/AIDS.

The Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture aids survivors, including children, women and erderly, to overcome the lasting effects of torture and war.

The Perinatal Bereavement Services of Ontario PBSO is a self-help organization committed to supporting parents and their families who have experienced the death of a baby through miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, medical termination, stillbirth or neonatal death.

The Canadian Cancer Society is a national community-based organization of volunteers whose mission is the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer.

World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) Conservation Program is tackling some of the most daunting conservation challenges facing the country, as well as the broader international community.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a volunteer-based health charity, leads in eliminating heart disease and stroke and reducing their impact through the advancement of research and its application, the promotion of healthy living and advocacy.

Oxfam Canada works with allies in Canada and around the world to change the policies and practices that perpetuate human suffering. They support organizations in poor communities overseas in their struggle to secure basic rights. Oxfam's advocacy and campaigns for just policies are rooted in the knowledge and experience gained in that struggle.

The Canadian Red Cross mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world.

The Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) helps to ease the pain of HIV/AIDS in Africa at the grassroots level. It provides care to women who are ill and struggling to survive; assists orphans and other AIDS affected children; supports heroic grandmothers who almost single-handedly care for their orphan grandchildren; and supports associations of people living with HIV/AIDS

The Nunavut Literacy Council promotes literacy and supports literacy initiatives in the four official languages of Nunavut - Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English, and French. Unfortunately there is no online donation but you can contact them directly.