Share Thanksgiving matches new Canadians with family meals
There’s a new matchmaking service in town that pairs families who have just immigrated to Canada with hosts who invite them over to share their very first Canadian Thanksgiving dinner.
The initiative launched in Toronto last year where they matched 100 families with turkey dinners. All had positive feedback, and many continued to keep in touch throughout the year.
The success of the program inspired founder Parker Mitchell to find local co-ordinators across Canada. This year there are Share Thanksgiving initiatives in Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver.
“When he reached out this year for some Calgary co-ordinators, we thought about it for about five minutes and decided to do it,” says Nina Lothian, one of the Calgary organizers.
Their goal is to welcome new Canadians one meal at a time — and have 10,000 families matched across Canada by Thanksgiving 2015.
“We've travelled quite a bit and have been welcomed in to homes and invited to share meals with families," said Lothian.
"Personally, these experiences have been the most touching and memorable of my travels. Being invited to share a meal makes you feel welcome and cared for.... We are hoping to make Canada the most welcoming country in the world.”
When people sign up they are asked which day they could host, how many they can accommodate and whether or not they are able to accommodate specific dietary needs.
The group also tries to match families with kids of a certain age and gender accordingly, if possible.
New settlement agencies in Calgary such as Immigrant Services Calgary, Welcome Centre for New Immigrants, Calgary Immigrant Education Society and Momentum have been instrumental in finding newcomers. But at last count there were 60 families signed up, and not as many hosts.
For more information, or to open up your home to some new Canadians, visit sharethanksgiving.ca.
