For companies, this holiday season
A January team event with a job to do: the holiday-party alternative
If the December party has turned into one more thing on a full calendar, a good alternative is a team event in January that gives people a job to do together. Engage and Change's kit pack on Saturday, January 16, 2027 is one: company teams pack winter survival kits, and the kits go out the same day to more than 200 front-line agencies across the GTA1.
Companies book from October to December.
The timing
January 16 falls after the rush.
December fills up fast. Year-end deadlines, client events and family plans all crowd into the same four weeks, and a work party on a December evening competes with every one of them for the same people.
By January 16, the parties are over. People are back from their time off, the pack falls in the middle of winter when the kits get used, and the agencies they go to ask for up to 30,000 kits a year1.
The calendar
How the next three months run.
- October to DecemberYou send the form with a rough headcount, and the 2027 package comes back by email with what each level includes1. Every item in a kit has to be bought and delivered before January 16, so the earlier your number comes in, the more of it becomes kits.
- December 1Agencies' deadline to apply for kits. First priority goes to front-line service providers2.
- Your DecemberKeep the party if your team wants one. The pack is on a different weekend.
- January 16, from 7:00 AMDoors open. Teams check in, grab a coffee and fill knapsacks with sleeping bags, socks, toothbrushes and the rest of the 30+ new items in each kit1.
- The same dayFinished kits are sorted by agency request and loaded out for more than 200 front-line agencies, including shelters, Out of the Cold programs and outreach programs1.
- AfterPhotos and your tax receipt follow, and your logo goes up on the partners wall at engageandchange.org1.
Your staff
It's a Saturday, so ask first.
January 16 is a Saturday and doors open at 7:00 AM, which is a lot to ask of anyone in the middle of winter. Make it optional. Put a sign-up out in November, see who says yes and book for that number, because a team can be as small as three people and the staff who stay home are still part of what the company gives.
Holiday giving
Other ways a company can give this season.
Fund the campaign and skip the event day.
If the December party is staying, the company can sponsor the 2027 campaign instead. The money buys kit items and gets the finished kits to agencies. Other company teams pack. Sponsors of the campaign get their logo on the partners wall, a line in the 2027 Spotlight strip on our homepage, a mention on our social channels and a tax receipt issued through the Unity Values Foundation1.
Give in your staff's or your clients' names.
A gift through CanadaHelps can be made in someone's honour, with an eCard to tell them about it3. One company did this for every employee:
"In support of Project Winter Survival, I am honoring each one of my staff with the donation of a Survival Kit as their company Christmas gift."
Priscilla Nesbitt, MHS, Best Western International1
Run a staff drive of new items.
Surplus event swag, overstock, or new kit items your staff collect can go into the kits, as long as everything is new and it arrives in bulk1. Tell us what you have first. Tick "Donating kit items" on our Get Involved form and list it in the notes.
Start a fundraiser at the office.
A CanadaHelps page the whole office can give through, or a jeans day at work1.
Request the package
Request the 2027 package.
Tell us roughly how many might come. The package arrives by email from [email protected] with what each level includes, and once the sign-up sheet comes back you can reply to that email with your team size and we will hold the spot1. Since 1999, nearly 95,000 kits have gone out this way.
Questions people ask
The short answers.
What can we do instead of a holiday party?
Move the team event to January and give it a job. Company teams pack winter survival kits with Engage and Change on Saturday, January 16, 2027, and the kits go to more than 200 front-line agencies across the GTA. A company can also fund the campaign with no event day, give in its staff's or clients' names, or run a staff drive of new kit items1.
What are good January team building ideas in Toronto?
A kit pack is one. The Project Winter Survival pack is on January 16, 2027, from 7:00 AM, for teams of 3 people to 15 and up. If you need a weekday in January, a company can run its own kit pack on its own date through KITS FOR A CAUSE, who supply the items and handle the logistics1.
Can a company donate instead of throwing a holiday party?
How far ahead should we book a January team event?
Companies book from October to December. Every item in a kit has to be bought and delivered before January 16, so the earlier the number arrives, the more of it becomes kits1.
Can we give a donation to charity as a holiday gift for clients?
Yes. A gift through CanadaHelps can be made in someone's honour, and CanadaHelps can send them an eCard3. $50 helps build a kit.
Sources
- Engage and Change. For Companies, Project Winter Survival, Get Involved and About pages, engageandchange.org, as of October 2026; totals (nearly 95,000 kits since 1999, up to 30,000 agency requests a year) as confirmed by the board, October 11, 2026. For Companies.
- Engage and Change, Apply for Kits. Agency applications accepted until December 1; first priority to front-line service providers. Apply for Kits.
- CanadaHelps Donor Help, "How do I send an e-card with my donation?" donorhelp.canadahelps.org.
Dates and sources checked October 11, 2026.