What started with donated food left on a table for parents arriving to collect their children has blossomed into friendships and community at a YMCA of Southwestern Ontario newcomer childcare centre. By making space for giving and sharing, a north London Care for Newcomer Children (CNC) centre has helped ignite potential in the community by sparking a new way for families with language barriers to connect.
In the few months since Y employee service worker Tess Corriveau arrived at the centre with donations from a holiday food drive at the Wortley YMCA, the situation has come full circle.
That first day, CNC staff didn’t know what to expect when they put the food on a table with a sign that said “Free, please take!” The Y team hoped parents returning from English language classes to pick up their kids would welcome the gesture. They did.
“The thing that stood out to me was how people immediately started sharing between them themselves,” said CNC Lead Educator Megan Wales. “There was this happy connection and communication between the parents of the children in our care as they received these food donations and handed some out to others.”
The next day, the mother of one of the children in care asked if she could donate some clothing her child had outgrown. She said she wanted to “give too.”
Staff set out the clothing and once again families came in, overflowing with gratitude as they accepted the items.
“Since these two events, it has almost become a daily occurrence,” said Wales. “Our CNC parents have been bringing items that they want to share with others that could need. It is like a gift that keeps on giving and grateful hearts that keep on receiving. To see some who in some cases, maybe don't have much, want to give what they can give to others in the same situations as them is awe inspiring.”
The Giving Table, as it has since been named, is here to stay, and Wales said it become a place of conversation and community. “I’ve seen friendships start at that table,” she said.
Educators also contribute. One knit homemade scarves to share during the cold weather.
"It makes me happy that people care about each other, said Samia, a new-to-Canada mom. “It is helpful to me,"
To CNC educator Aisha Faisal, the Giving Table has provided a way to give back to the community that helped her family when they first arrived from Pakistan.
“At that time our friends shared so many things with us, so that’s why now I choose to share with newcomers, too,” Aisha said. “As we teach the children, ‘Sharing is caring.’”
Educator Mini Bhalla agreed. Sharing is like giving a part of your joy to someone else,” she said.
For parents who are still working hard to communicate with others in Canada, the act of giving has helped break through some of the language barriers, allowing everyone involved to “connect and communicate,” said Wales.
“The giving comes full circle.”