What is the Gift Card Program?
With record increases in child and family poverty in Toronto, many families served by the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CCAS) have struggled to afford food, diapers, formula, personal care items and basic household needs. Your donations provide families with gift cards from Canadian retailers so they can provide for their children, preventing a temporary cash shortfall from snowballing.
How it helps:
Vulnerable families need a hand
Toronto is the child poverty capital of Canada, and the depth of poverty is growing, particularly among low-income, one-parent, Indigenous, racialized, immigrant and newcomer children. Gift cards from the CCAF offer a lifeline for CCAS-involved families, who are challenged by financial instability, unemployment, education gaps and mental health concerns.
Your impact:
CCAF-funded gift cards cover unexpected needs that fall through the cracks
Gift cards don’t just deliver financial aid—they offer stability, dignity and hope. Thanks to donors like you, CCAF-funded gift cards have:
- Helped an unemployed mother buy a stroller or her toddler after escaping from domestic violence.
- Filled the lunch boxes of children who recently arrived in Canada, but whose family hadn’t yet qualified for community support.
- Been a godsend for a single mom who was unable to work while caring for her teenage daughter with cancer.
Read more inspiring stories

Dr. Hugh Siddall: a champion of kids in care for 50+ years
Physician’s scholarship for youth extends his five decades of care for young people involved with the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto

Joseph’s story: Urgent help with food, supplies
Donor-funded program helps 18- to 23-year-olds set up their first apartment when they age out of government subsidy

Brandon and Sean’s Story – How Two Brothers Are Paying It Forward For The Next Generation
“They are my parents, that’s how I think of them today. I love them. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today, if it weren’t for them.”
– Brandon, 32, on his foster parents
See more programs

Friends & Loved Ones
Funding holiday travel and bonding activities for Toronto youth in extended care

HARP Program
With compassion and community partnerships, HARP helps children and youth by supporting struggling families and keeping kids out of care

Scholarships
CCAF provides scholarships to current and former youth in extended society care for university, college and trade school