# Engage and Change: Full Reference

> A registered Toronto charity created to foster good citizenship and healthy communities by giving back. Engage and Change gives individuals and businesses a hands-on way to help people experiencing homelessness, primarily by assembling and distributing survival kits across the Greater Toronto Area. Charity #80541 8647 RR0001.

## Mission

We inspire people and businesses to engage in a hands-on experience with a tangible outcome that will change the lives of those in need. We promote, identify, and develop partnerships between individuals, for-profit, and not-for-profit organizations to assemble and distribute survival kits to communities in need.

## Programs

### Project Winter Survival (flagship, active)
Since 1999, Project Winter Survival has provided people experiencing homelessness with Winter Survival Kits that deliver warmth and essential supplies for survival on the street through winter. Over its history, volunteers and donors have assembled and distributed nearly 95,000 kits. The charity receives up to 30,000 requests a year from agencies and distributes through 200+ front-line organizations including the Red Cross, Out of the Cold programs, the Salvation Army, Covenant House, local shelters, and street outreach across the GTA. Each kit contains 30+ items: sleeping bag, backpack, winter hat, scarf, gloves, socks, hand warmers, and a full range of hygiene and comfort items. A donation of $50 helps build one kit.

### Project Water (archived)
Project Water was created in response to the fact that more people experiencing homelessness die from dehydration in summer than from exposure in winter. Over the life of the program it distributed more than 5 million bottles of water, along with essential supplies, to people across the GTA. The program has since been retired; the charity now concentrates its efforts on Project Winter Survival.

## The need (Toronto)

In the City of Toronto's most recent count (the October 2025 Point-in-Time Count), 12,196 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night, including 1,446 sleeping outdoors. That is down 21% from the 2024 peak of 15,418 but still well above the roughly 7,300 counted in 2021. In the three months to May 2026, 10,569 people were actively homeless in Toronto according to the City's Shelter System Flow data. Across Ontario, 85,000 people experienced homelessness in 2025, up 8% in one year (AMO, January 2026). Insufficient income and a lack of affordable housing are the leading drivers.

## How to help

- **Give toward kits** (individual or group) or **start a fundraiser** via CanadaHelps. $50 helps build a kit. Tax receipts are issued through the Unity Values Foundation.
- **Bring a company team.** The January event is for company teams only: a company donates to bring a team (see https://engageandchange.org/companies). Companies can also run their own kit pack through KITS FOR A CAUSE.
- **Run a bulk drive of new kit items.** Companies, schools and faith groups can collect new items and deliver them in bulk (contact us first). Items are always new, for hygiene and dignity, and can be bought at wholesale through The Bargains Group. Individual drop-offs and homemade kits are not accepted.
- **Agencies** can apply for survival kits each year (applications accepted until December 1; first priority to front-line service providers).

## Common questions

- *Can I volunteer at the January event?* The January event is for company teams. Individuals help by giving toward kits or starting a fundraiser.
- *How does a $50 donation help?* $50 helps build a Winter Survival Kit, which holds 30+ items including a sleeping bag and a backpack.
- *When does it happen?* The main Project Winter Survival event is held each January.
- *Who receives the kits?* People experiencing homelessness, via 200+ front-line agencies across the GTA.

## Contact

- Phone: 647-725-2566 (Toronto) / 1-877-255-3605 (toll free)
- Email: info@engageandchange.org
- Address: 890 Caledonia Road, Toronto, ON M6B 3Y1
- Website: https://engageandchange.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/engageandchange/ · Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/engageandchange/ · LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/engageandchange/