A group of businesses along Queen Street West are helping a local women’s shelter this holiday season, by giving discounts to customers who bring in donations.
The Salvation Army’s Florence Booth House, located at 723 Queen St. near Tecumseth Street, is a 64-bed shelter that helps single women in need. This includes refugees, victims of abuse and women struggling with mental health issues or addiction.
The shelter has been helping the community for 15 years. And this holiday season, the community has decided to give back.
“We’re going to be doing 15 per cent off dine-in food for one with any donation of a non-perishable food item or an article of warm clothing,” said Jon Polubiec, the owner of Come And Get It, one of the participating restaurants.
So far, 20 businesses along Queen Street West have signed on, each offering their own promotion to get people to donate food and warm clothing to the Florence Booth House.
Toa Drayton, the owner of clothing store Cabaret Vintage, was one of the first to join the initiative, not only to support the shelter, but to encourage his customers to support the community in general.
“If you want the stores to be here that make the city so great, then you need to help them. You need to support them,” he said.
Starting Dec.1, participating businesses will by flying red Salvation Army balloons outside their stores to let everyone know they are accepting donations.
The clothing and food drive will run until Christmas Eve.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Heather Wright
