SURREY B.C, Canada—The Holiday season provides a great opportunity for diverse communities to come together to make Christmas special for hundreds of families. A fantastic example of communities coming together is the Toys for Kids campaign by the Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen and Sikh Academy Elementary, who rally the Sikh community to collect and donate toys for children in need this Christmas.
Toys collected in this campaign will directly benefit families supported by The Salvation Army, The Lower Mainland Purpose Society for Youth and Family, and New Westminster Family Place.

“Sikhs believe in “Sarbat Da Bhala”, meaning caring for all.” says Roveen Kandola with Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen. “It’s important during the Christmas season, to think of those less fortunate and make their Christmas much brighter”.
“New Westminster Family Place is very appreciative of the lovely toys that we receive from you for our families”, says Majorie Staal, Executive Director of New Westminster Family Place. “Our parents are overwhelmed by the quality of the toys that come.”
Over the last several weeks, donors and volunteers collected toys at various Sikh Temples in the Metro Vancouver area. All the toys were transported to the gymnasium at Sikh Academy in Newton, where volunteers gift-wrapped all 3,000 toys yesterday.
The annual Toys for Kids campaign has donated over 5,000 toys the last two years, providing hundreds of families the opportunity to have a more enjoyable Christmas. The toys collected will directly benefit families supported by the Salvation Army, the Lower Mainland Purpose Society for Youth and Family, and the New Westminster Family Place. Toys will also be donated to 20-25 Syrian refugees families who are scheduled to arrive in the Lower Mainland in the coming weeks.