Volunteering in Toronto
How can I help others in our city?
Volunteer your time
Other ways you can help!
Support your local businesses
Think of your day from start to finish. What services do you access? What are your expenses? If you are no longer going to the office each day, you may see a reduction in your expenses. If it is possible to do so, consider using that savings to support small retailers, service providers, artists, and organizations whose work contributes to your day to day experience when life is good.
With most restaurants and stores closed, consider seeking retailers and services out online to provide advance payments, purchase gift certificates, and find out how you can best support them. When in doubt, pick up the phone and ask.
Many of your local cafes, stores and restaurants are still open for pickup or delivery, consider using their services as often as possible, and give generous tips as a type of donation that will go directly to servers or delivery person. If they are closed, contact restaurants to ask if you can continue to provide tips to servers and if they will distribute to staff.
Here are some other ideas on how you can support if you have the financial means to do so:
- Where do you get your food?
- Small farmers are struggling due to restaurant closures. Seek out farmers in your area to explore buy direct options.
- In some cases, farmers may deliver directly to you.
- How do you get to work?
- If you have a car, can you utilize it to help neighbours or people in your community by offering to shop for them or run errands that they can’t run as a result of illness?
- If you have a car, can you utilize it to help neighbours or people in your community by offering to shop for them or run errands that they can’t run as a result of illness?
- Who provides services at your workplace? Encourage your employer to maintain fees for service providers so they will be paid during office closures, including:
- Cleaners
- Chefs/cooks
- On site personnel
- Drivers
- Does someone help you with childcare during the day or after school?
- Maintain expenses even if your children no longer require this care while you are at home
- Does someone walk your dog?
- Maintain expenses even if your dog no longer requires this care while you are home
- Maintain expenses even if your dog no longer requires this care while you are home
- Does someone clean your house?
- Maintain this expense even if you no longer able to use this service while in social isolation
- What would you usually do for fun?
- Instead of going to movies consider donating to neighbourhood theatres, Hot Docs, TIFF or purchasing gift certificates from cinemas you frequent
- Instead of going to art galleries
- Consider donating to small artist-run centres https://www.carfacontario.ca/Ontario-Artist-Run-Centres-&-Collectives
- Consider purchasing a membership to a gallery
- Consider donating to or buying gift certificates from Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Harbourfront Centre
- Consider buying direct from local artists online
- Instead of going to concerts
- Consider purchasing albums from local artists you love, giving special consideration to independent artists who may derive most of their income from touring.
- Consider purchasing albums from local artists you love, giving special consideration to independent artists who may derive most of their income from touring.
- Instead of attending the theatre
- Consider donating to local stages and theatres to support ongoing development
- Consider donating to organizations that support actors and theatre workers:
- Actors in Canada Equity (theatre)
- Association of Designers in Canada (ADC)
- International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
- Purchase gift certificates
- Instead of going for drinks
- Purchase gift certificates from bars and pubs you frequent
- Purchase directly from breweries if they remain open
.png)
