2024 Bag Drive

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the homelessness crisis in Ontario has become much more prevalent. Increasing grocery and rent prices in Kingston are exacerbating the situation. 

Indigenous Peoples are especially vulnerable to increasing costs and homelessness due to the intersectionality of systematic racism, lower socioeconomic status and intergenerational trauma. Unfortunately, for these reasons, Indigenous Peoples tend to be overrepresented among those facing homelessness in Kingston. For example, despite making up only 3.4% of Kingston’s population, about 33% of those experiencing homelessness in Kingston identify as Indigenous.

Every year, Bags of Promise has an annual donation drive to a local Kingston shelter. This year, the service team spearheaded our donation drive to Tipi Moza, which is a shelter for Indigenous Peoples who are facing homelessness in Kingston. Over the past 4 months, our team has invested significant time and effort into collecting enough donations to fill 30 backpacks with winter gear, hygiene products and nutritious foods for the residents of Tipi Moza. 

Donations for this drive were raised by collaboration with SPINCO Kingston and Lululemon Kingston, as well as through a Bags of Promise booth in the Queen’s University student centre. We also collaborated with the Queen’s Dental Aid Network (QDAN) to get toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss. In the end, we exceeded our goal and made 36 bags full of a variety of winter essentials like gloves, hats, hotpaws, granola bars, and soap.

If you want to learn more about our donation drive, check out our interview on Global News, or read this article in the Queen’s Gazette. 

Authors: Kyran Sachdeva & Paige Adams