Toronto charities concerned about drop in donations amid Canada Post strike

The now three-week-old strike by Canada Post workers is hurting charities that rely on the holiday season for donations.

At the Good Shepherd Ministries on Queen Street East in Toronto, Abdul Nofiu says he is worried that the organization may not be able to give people like him the support he has come to know.

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Nofiu is a refugee claimant from Nigeria who has been living at the Good Shepherd for seven months. He explains that because of his sexual orientation, he is considered a criminal back home.

“I can't go back to my country because my life is in danger,” he told CTV News Toronto while eating one of the 900 meals that the Good Shepherd serves to the city's unhoused each day. 

Concern is growing that there might not be enough money for the Good Shepherd to continue their level of service.

Akilu Wendaferew, the executive director for the Good Shepherd, says Christmas is the organization's largest fundraising season.

The problem is that the Canada Post strike means that mail-in donations aren’t coming in, and mail-out reminders to donors aren’t being delivered. 

“So we can't deliver our reminders, neither we can receive anything from our donors and supporters,” Wendaferew said.

He noted that the Good Shepherd usually brings in $500,000 in donations, but this year is up in the air.

Across town at the Scott Mission on Spadina Avenue, CEO Peter Durisami says the Canada Post strike has already hurt their donations.

“Just in the month of November, our donations have dropped by 600,000,” Durisami said.

At this time of year, families rely on Scott Mission for food and toys to put under the Christmas tree. The group relies on Canada Post to deliver 70 per cent of their donations.

“If this continues, it's going to hit us harder and harder," Durisami said.

While many charities are fearful that this Canada Post strike could cause them to lose donations, some charities like the Shine Foundation are also worried about commitments that they've already made.

The Shine Foundation makes wishes come true for children with physical disabilities. Its CEO, Tiffany Houston, says they have at least 12 gifts that they were planning to deliver by the end of the year. With the Canada Post strike curbing donations, the money might not be enough, and the gifts postponed.

“I hate the feeling that we cannot do that for a couple more months. It's hard. It's hard to disappoint them,” Houston said.

She explains that many of the gifts they deliver are large, like adaptive bikes or saddles, which allow kids who do not have use of their limbs the opportunity to enjoy activities like cycling or horseback riding.

“They're not asking for things that are 20 bucks, 30 bucks. These are in the tens of thousands of dollars that families cannot afford because it's four times more expensive to have a kid with a disability,” Houston said.

December is supposed to be Shine Foundation's best month for fundraising, with 30 per cent of their annual revenue expected to come this month. Now they are making calls to all donors who usually send money by mail.

Back at the Good Shepherd, Nofiu says he is worried about the donations.

“It's a big worry to me because they really need the support in hand to keep doing the good work,” he said.

All these charities are asking donors to reach them by phone or online to help keep the holidays about giving.