# Engage and Change

> A registered Toronto charity that 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. Founded by Jody Steinhauer. Charity #80541 8647 RR0001.

## What we do

- **Project Winter Survival** (flagship): every January, company teams pack thousands of donor-funded Winter Survival Kits in a single day, and the kits go to people experiencing homelessness through 200+ front-line agencies. Since 1999, nearly 95,000 kits have been distributed, and agencies request up to 30,000 a year. Each kit holds 30+ essential items (sleeping bag, hat, gloves, scarf, hygiene supplies, and more).
- **Project Water** (archived): a retired program that, over its life, distributed more than 5 million bottles of water to people at risk of dehydration on the street.

## Who we serve

People experiencing homelessness across Toronto and the GTA, and the front-line agencies that support them (shelters, drop-ins, street outreach).

## How to help

- **For companies** (https://engageandchange.org/companies): corporate volunteering and sponsorship for Project Winter Survival 2027. Sponsor a team and pack kits on January 16, 2027 (or run your own kit pack with KITS FOR A CAUSE), or sponsor the campaign without attending. Request the 2027 sponsorship package via the on-page form.

- Individuals: give toward kits or start a fundraiser via CanadaHelps. $50 helps build a kit. The January event is for company teams only; individuals cannot attend it or drop off items, and homemade kits are not accepted.
- Companies, schools and faith groups: run a drive of new kit items and deliver it in bulk (contact us first). New items can be bought at wholesale through The Bargains Group.
- Corporate team building through KITS FOR A CAUSE kit-packing events, at the January event or a company's own kit pack.
- Agencies can apply for survival kits (applications open until December 1 each year).

## 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/
- [Homelessness in Toronto: the numbers](https://engageandchange.org/homelessness-in-toronto): the City of Toronto's 2024 count (an estimated 15,400 people, up from about 7,300 in 2021), deaths data, Central Intake averages and Warming Centre capacity, every figure cited to its source.
- [Need shelter tonight in Toronto](https://engageandchange.org/need-shelter-tonight): who to call for an emergency shelter bed (Central Intake 416-338-4766, 24 hours, or 311), 211 for other help, Warming Centre addresses and hours, and what to do if you are helping someone.
- [What people sleeping outside actually need in winter](https://engageandchange.org/what-homeless-people-need-in-winter): what people sleeping outside need in winter (dry socks, a hat, gloves, a scarf and a sleeping bag first), every item in a Project Winter Survival kit and why it is there, how to give directly, and how $50 helps build a kit; health claims cited to Health Canada, the City of Toronto and CCOHS.
- [How to make a winter care kit](https://engageandchange.org/how-to-make-a-winter-care-kit): a checklist for making your own winter care kit or blessing bag (warmth first, then hygiene and small extras, plus a card of Toronto phone numbers), what to leave out and how to hand one over. Engage and Change does not accept homemade kits; $50 helps build a full kit.
- [How to help someone experiencing homelessness](https://engageandchange.org/how-to-help-homeless-people): how to help someone experiencing homelessness: say hello and ask what would help, who to call in Toronto (311 for Streets to Homes street outreach, Central Intake 416-338-4766, Warming Centres from minus 5°C, 911 in an emergency, 2-1-1 elsewhere in Canada), what to give, giving time locally, and how $50 helps build a Project Winter Survival kit.
- [What homeless shelters need, and why to call first](https://engageandchange.org/what-homeless-shelters-need): what homeless shelters commonly ask for (new socks and underwear, winter clothing, hygiene products, gift cards, money) and why to call first, what to do with used clothing, why every Project Winter Survival kit item is new, how companies, schools and faith groups can deliver drives of new items in bulk, and how $50 helps build a kit.
- [A gift in their name, toward a winter survival kit](https://engageandchange.org/donate-in-someones-name): how to give a donation in someone's name through Engage and Change on CanadaHelps (in honour or in memory, with an optional eCard; the tax receipt goes to the giver), what $50 helps build (a Project Winter Survival kit with a sleeping bag, a backpack and 30+ new items), and starting a CanadaHelps fundraiser for your own occasion.
- [Should you give money to someone asking for help on the street?](https://engageandchange.org/should-i-give-money-to-homeless-people): whether to give money to someone asking for help on the street, with no verdict either way: a 2001 Toronto study of 54 people panhandling (food was the top expense, then tobacco, then alcohol or drugs) and a 2023 Vancouver $7,500 cash study, both with their limits; things to weigh; and other ways to help: buy what is asked for, call 311 for Streets to Homes outreach, or give $50 toward a kit.
- [How cold is too cold to sleep outside?](https://engageandchange.org/how-cold-is-too-cold-to-sleep-outside): what temperatures put someone sleeping outside at risk (hypothermia and frostbite risk from a wind chill of minus 10, skin freezing in 10 to 30 minutes at minus 28, trench foot as high as 15.5°C when wet), when Toronto opens Warming Centres (minus 5 forecast), signs of hypothermia and frostbite, and when to call 311 or 911; sourced to Health Canada, CCOHS and the City of Toronto.
- [Team building that gives back, in Toronto](https://engageandchange.org/team-building-toronto): a corporate team-building day in Toronto where company teams pack winter survival kits on Saturday, January 16, 2027 (teams of 3 to 15 and up; a company donates to bring a team), how it compares with an escape room or a cooking class, and who should book something else; the kits go to 200+ GTA agencies.
- [A holiday-party alternative, in January](https://engageandchange.org/holiday-party-alternative): a January alternative to the December holiday party: company teams pack winter survival kits on Saturday, January 16, 2027 for 200+ GTA agencies, booked October to December; plus other ways a company can give this season (fund the campaign, give in staff's or clients' names, run a staff drive of new items, or start an office fundraiser).
- [What your company's donation builds](https://engageandchange.org/corporate-sponsorship-toronto): what a company donation to Project Winter Survival builds, step by step from wholesale items to 200+ GTA agencies; what each of the two ways in includes (sponsor a team or sponsor the event), with no team prices; a paragraph companies can copy into a report; and six questions to ask before sponsoring any charity event.
- [Donate new surplus stock to winter survival kits](https://engageandchange.org/donate-excess-inventory): how companies can donate new surplus stock (event swag, promotional products, 3PL overstock, unused returns) to Project Winter Survival kits; which items fit the kit list and which can't be taken; and the five steps from interest form to one bulk delivery before the January 16, 2027 pack, for 200+ GTA agencies.
- [How to run a donation drive at work](https://engageandchange.org/how-to-run-a-donation-drive): a seven-step guide to running a workplace donation drive of new winter kit items: pick two or three items, set a two to three week window and a count, have a senior leader send the kickoff, then make one bulk delivery for the January 16, 2027 pack; plus school and faith-group versions, and raising money instead ($50 helps build a kit).
- [Employee volunteer ideas people show up for](https://engageandchange.org/employee-volunteering-ideas): five questions to ask before booking any employee volunteer day, and three ways a GTA company can help Engage and Change: bring a team to pack winter survival kits on January 16, 2027, run its own kit pack on its own date through KITS FOR A CAUSE, or run a drive of new kit items; individual volunteers are not placed.