Team building in Toronto
Team building that gives back: a corporate kit-packing day in Toronto
Engage and Change runs a corporate team-building day in Toronto where company teams pack winter survival kits for people sleeping outside, and the 2027 date is Saturday, January 16. A company donates to bring its team, teams run from 3 people to 15 and up, and the finished kits go out to more than 200 front-line agencies across the GTA1. Doors open at 7:00 AM.
The day
What your team does on January 16.
Check in at 7:00 AM.
Teams arrive, grab a coffee and get placed on a packing line beside the other company teams1.
Pack.
Each kit gets 30+ new items, from a sleeping bag, gloves and socks down to a toothbrush, a notepad and a deck of playing cards, and all of it goes into a sport bag or knapsack1.
Afterwards.
Photos and your tax receipt follow, and your company's logo goes up on the partners wall at engageandchange.org1.
The start is early. At the last pack, on January 17, 2026, CityNews 680 aired four live segments from the event, the first at 6:05 AM and the last at 7:342. The 2027 venue is in the Greater Toronto Area and has not been confirmed yet.
How it compares
A kit pack next to the usual team days.
Escape rooms and cooking classes fill the first page of this search, and plenty of teams enjoy them. Laid side by side:
| Escape room or game venue | Cooking or craft class | The January kit pack | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What your team does | Solves puzzles against a clock | Learns a skill, then eats or keeps what it made | Packs 30+ new items into each kit, on a line with other company teams |
| When | Most days, by time slot | Most days, by time slot | Saturday, January 16, 2027, from 7:00 AM, or your own date through KITS FOR A CAUSE |
| Group size | Set by the venue | Set by the venue | 3 people to 15 and up |
| Where the money goes | To the venue | To the venue | New kit items bought at wholesale, and getting the kits to agencies |
| What is left afterwards | The day itself | What you cooked or made | Kits on their way to more than 200 front-line agencies, photos, your logo on our partners wall, and a tax receipt issued through the Unity Values Foundation |
| How you book | Online, with a per-person price | Online, with a per-person price | Send the form, and the 2027 package comes by email with what each level includes |
Book the escape room if your team wants a game with a winner, a weekday afternoon, or a slot next Friday. The kit pack runs once a year. It starts early on a Saturday in January, it asks your company for a donation, and by the end of it your team has packed kits that leave for agencies across the GTA the same day.
Who it suits
The teams it suits.
- Mixed teams. Everyone on a packing line does the same job, so the person from accounts payable can stand next to the VP and talk while their hands are busy, and nobody needs a skill to start.
- Companies with a CSR or ESG report to write. The result has a number attached: kits loaded out for more than 200 front-line agencies across the GTA1.
- Teams of three people and up. Groups run from 3 to 15 and up, and the form goes past 100.
- Teams that can make an early Saturday in mid-January. If that is the hard part, our page on January team events has a few thoughts on asking your staff
Something else
When to book something else.
- You need a weekday, or a date other than January 16. Ask about running your own kit pack on your own date with KITS FOR A CAUSE, who supply the items and handle the logistics1, or book a venue.
- You want a party. We can promise coffee at check-in, and after that the day is packing.
- It's you and a few friends. The January pack is for company teams only. On your own, you can give toward a kit or start a fundraiser on CanadaHelps.
- You have homemade kits or used items. We can't take either. A company with surplus new stock, or a staff drive of new kit items, can tick "Donating kit items" on our Get Involved form.
Who has backed it
Companies that have backed Project Winter Survival.
Scotiabank, CIBC, RBC, KPMG, Allstate, Starbucks and Toronto Police Service are among the backers1. The last pack, on January 17, 2026, filled 3,500 kits in a single day, and CTV News Toronto, CityNews and the Toronto Sun covered it12.
"The Engage and Changes' Project Winter Survival has been a truly amazing experience and cause with such a strong sense of purpose towards our Community!"
Andrew Vassos, former District Vice President, CIBC1
Request the package
Request the 2027 package.
Tell us roughly how many people you would bring, and the package comes by email with what each level includes and what the day looks like. Companies book October to December. Every item in a kit has to be bought and delivered before January 16, so the earlier your number arrives, the more of it turns into kits1.
Questions people ask
The short answers.
What are some team building activities in Toronto that give back?
One is the Project Winter Survival kit pack on Saturday, January 16, 2027, where company teams pack winter survival kits for more than 200 front-line agencies across the GTA. A company can also run its own kit pack on its own date through KITS FOR A CAUSE, or run a staff drive of new kit items and deliver it in bulk1.
Does it cost anything to bring a team?
Yes. A company donates to bring its team. Team levels are not published on the website, and they come in the 2027 package you can request on our For Companies page. Receipts for donations are issued through the Unity Values Foundation1.
How many people do we need?
Three. Teams run from 3 people to 15 and up, and the request form takes groups of more than 1001.
Can we do it on a weekday or on our own date?
Yes, through KITS FOR A CAUSE, who supply the items and handle the logistics, so your group only has to pack. The January 16 event itself is on a Saturday1.
Where is the January event?
In the Greater Toronto Area. The 2027 venue has not been confirmed yet, and doors open at 7:00 AM1.
Can I volunteer on my own?
Not at the January pack, which is for company teams. On your own, you can give toward a kit on our Donate page or start a fundraiser on CanadaHelps.
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.
- Coverage of the January 17, 2026 pack, as listed on engageandchange.org/media. CTV News Toronto, "Volunteers join Toronto police to create 'winter survival kits' for those in need," January 18, 2026, ctvnews.ca · CityNews, "Volunteers pack, distribute thousands of winter survival kits for Toronto's unhoused," January 17, 2026, citynews.ca · Toronto Sun, "Winter survival kits 'difference between life and death' for homeless," January 17, 2026, Yahoo News · CityNews 680 radio, four segments, January 17, 2026, Media.
- Toronto Police Service, news release on the 2026 Project Winter Survival distribution. Media page.
Event details and sources checked October 11, 2026.