Pursuit Holiday Drive: Pick an Ornament, Change a Family’s Holiday
To celebrate 10 years of Pursuit and 10 years of our Pursuit Holiday Drive, we’re ramping things up this holiday season!
This year, Pursuit Athletic Centre has adopted ten local families through the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington’s Adopt-A-Family program, and we’re inviting our whole community to help.
Adopt-A-Family matches local families going through a hard time with donors who help make their holidays brighter. Each family shares a wish list for their kids and a few simple gift ideas for the parents, and donors take care of the shopping.
Our community shows up for each other in the gym every day. This is our chance to show up for families outside our walls too.
How the Pursuit Holiday Tree works
Visit the Holiday Tree at Pursuit & Choose Any Ornament on the Tree! Every ornament holds a card for one gift recipient from one of our families.
Child cards list the child’s age, gender, favourite colour and gift ideas, often with sizes.
Parent cards list a simple gift a mom or dad has asked for, like gloves, a candle or a gift card.
Grocery cards ask for $50 grocery gift card (2 per family) from the store the family shops at, to help put food on the table over the holidays.
Check in with reception before you leave with your ornament. We need to track it all to make sure all the children, parents and gifts are accounted for!
Channel your inner elf and shop!
Bring your new, unwrapped gift to Pursuit by Wednesday, December 2. We’ll deliver every gift to the Children’s Foundation on behalf of our community.
What to know before you shop:
You don’t need to buy everything on the list. It’s there to give you options, so choose one, some or all of the items.
Follow the sizes and colours on your card where they’re given.
Include a gift receipt. Families have asked for receipts, especially for clothing, in case something needs to be exchanged.
Attach your ornament card to your gift so we can match it to the right family.
Keep family details private. The families trust us with personal information, so please don’t share or post the details on your card.
Please do not include: cash, prepaid credit cards, used items, alcohol or food. A few new, packaged, non-perishable treats like chocolates are welcome. A holiday card or note for the family is always welcome, but we ask you only sign it with your first name!
Not able to shop? You can still help.
If you’d like to support the drive without shopping, we’re accepting monetary donations. Every dollar goes toward grocery gift cards for our families. Donations can be made at the Pursuit front desk.
JOIN US PURSUIT FAM!
Whether it’s a winter coat for a teenager, a toy car for a toddler or a grocery card that covers a holiday meal, every ornament makes a real difference to a family in our community.
Stop by the Holiday Tree next time you’re at Pursuit, pick an ornament, and help us bring hope and joy home to local families this season. Questions? Ask anyone at the front desk.
Learn more about the program on the Children’s Foundation’s Adopt-A-Family page: www.childrensfoundation.org/programs/adopt-a-family
