The holidays are traditionally a time for parties and gatherings with friends. For the families in Nellie’s community, our holiday dinner at Ralph Thornton Community Centre has always been a highlight of the season.

This annual tradition, filled with music, food, laughter, and a visit from Santa started a decade ago. At that first party, about 100 women and their children attended. Last year was the largest festive occasion yet, with over 200 families joining the party.

“People were waiting at the door, and we didn’t even have enough chairs we had so many people,” laughs Peggy Capitain, a Toronto mom and volunteer who started the Nellie’s holiday party tradition. “The smiles and joy I see at the holiday party just warms my heart.”

Almost as soon as the 2019 party ended, Peggy and her amazing group of volunteers and donors began strategizing how to reach even more families by throwing an even bigger party.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and with it, restriction across the country on social gatherings.

But that hasn’t deterred Peggy from wanting to give back to Nellie’s this holiday season. Instead of a large, festive community party, she began working with Nellie’s to plan a more intimate event for the women and their children living in the shelter over the holidays. She fundraised to provide a nice holiday meal for shelter residents and rallied her network to collect gifts (toys for kids and self-care packages for moms) as well as winter necessities, such as socks, hats, and gloves.

“The pandemic makes everything so much harder for Nellie’s. It was really important to me to continue the tradition, even if it’s in a different way,” says Peggy.

“I really put myself in [the women and their children’s] shoes,” says Peggy, explaining that while she has been fortunate to have never had to stay in a shelter, her parents came to Canada as immigrants and, over the years, family financial troubles meant that, as a teenager, she worked several jobs to help keep a roof over their heads. “I believe that everyone needs a lift sometimes. People can soar when they’re given the opportunity. For me, the driving force has always been my desire to lift someone else up.”

Peggy is hopeful that by next fall, she’ll be able to once again plan another Nellie’s community holiday party. “It’s a very special event and we want to do something again next year, even if we have to come up with an innovative way to do it.”

Thank you, Peggy for everything you do for the women and their children in Nellie’s community! For many women and children living in shelters, the loss of holiday celebrations in their homes re-enforces their sense of loss. We recognize that when forced with the possibility of losing the holiday family gathering, many women go back to their abuser, trying hard to recreate holiday memories for themselves and their children. This is one of the reasons fundraising efforts like Peggy’s are so important. It allows us to mount an amazing holiday celebration during these difficult times. Peggy’s fundraising drive means we will be able to provide women and their children with shared experiences, and it will serve to unite the residents over familiar celebrations.

 Have another fundraising idea? Contact fundraising@nellies.org. Or, to make a secure online donation, please donate here. Or, you can make an even bigger impact by becoming a monthly donor. As a regular monthly supporter, your generosity provides critical and consistent funding towards our daily efforts to help women and their children impacted by abuse, trauma and homelessness. Automatic monthly payments are easy to set up, convenient, and create a lasting impact on the lives of women and their children at Nellie’s.