Give back these holidays with the Canadian Red Cross

It's a busy time of year. Shortened dark days fly by fast, snow starts to stick, and it's technically not even winter yet.

The holidays can complicate things. But you don't have to.

If you're spending hours in line at the mall or stuck in front of a screen tracking your packages online, it's easy to feel frustrated. The holidays are about giving back, but that's sometimes easier said than done. It's hard to know where to start. The Canadian Red Cross' annual holiday campaign aims to make things a little easier.

It starts with Giving Tuesday, the official kick-off of the most charitable season of the year and the natural evolution of shopping holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The Canadian Red Cross is hoping that generous supporters across Canada will rally to give 500 gifts to vulnerable people this Giving Tuesday. But the need this season goes beyond one day.

For the next month, the Canadian Red Cross Holiday Gift Shop is the best way to give back.

THE PERFECT GIFT IS ONE THAT GIVES BACK

What does the perfect gift look like? For us, the perfect gift is one that makes a person’s life easier.

The perfect gift is a warm blanket or healthy groceries to help someone following a home fire or other emergency.

It’s gifts like these, which you can shop at redcross.ca/AnswerTheCall:

Warm Blankets, $20: Delivers comforting warmth and a sense of security to a vulnerable individual.

Newborn & Child Health Pack, $20: Life-saving medicines and nutritional supplements help keep newborns healthy.

Women's Hygiene Pack, $25: Essential hygiene items help women maintain dignity and health during a disaster.

Grocery Pack, $45: Helps feed a family for a full day following an emergency or a disaster.

Disaster Relief Pack, $50: Provides a family the essential comfort items needed to recover from a crisis.

Food and Water Relief, $60: Enough food and water to last a family of five an entire month.

Each item in our gift shop was designed to make someone’s life easier; to give them the care, dignity and hope they deserve. When combined, they make a comprehensive survival kit that will help people wherever help is needed. Individually, they could change a person’s life.

Visit the Canadian Red Cross Holiday Gift Shop to build a Survival Kit now.