CTC Winter Clothing Drive

For Tamils of Sri Lankan origin across the world, November is a month marked with somber reflection and sadness for all those who lost their lives in the over 30-year civil war in Sri Lanka that concluded in 2009.

Individuals and organizations within the Tamil diaspora mark this month and remember the dead by engaging in service or charity, often directed to their communities of residence.  The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) continued its long tradition of service to both Canada and Sri Lanka, by initiating its first ever Winter Clothing Campaign aimed at donating new and gently used winter clothing to the New Circles Community Services in Scarborough.  New Circles provides comprehensive skills training and settlement support to newcomers, refugees, and equity-deserving individuals and families at no charge to ready its clients for employment in business and retail.

With the advent of winter, New Circles’ clients require good winter clothing to not only attend training but to commute to their workplace upon employment.  The CTC’s timely donation will assist many newcomers and refugees to continue receiving training and move forward towards gainful employment.  The Tamil community in Canada, now well established, was also at one time, a community of newcomers and refugees and achieved significant social and economic mobility due not only to their perseverance and hard work but from the support it received from community organizations such as New Circles.  It was therefore doubly satisfying to the Board, Advisory Council and members of CTC to take part in the first Winter Clothing Campaign and return at least some of the generosity that we received when we first came to Canada.

While all CTC members participated in donating to the Winter Clothing Campaign, the donated clothing was handed over to Hunaina Kamran, Senior Manager of New Circles, by CTC board members and core volunteers.