Stuffin Stockings: A Bright Holiday Star in Waterloo Ontario

Every year the Holidays come earlier. As soon as the kids are back on the school busses in September, the holiday onslaught begins: stores, online catalogs and charities all begin competing for your attention. It’s easy for a local, home grown charity in Waterloo, Ontario to get lost in the din. But, Stuffin Stockings needs to be the one new tradition that you start this year.

Founded by a local woman named Carolyn Parks, Stuffin’ Stockings had the most humble of beginnings. Carolyn wanted to donate a single stuffed stocking to a local charity to make one child’s holiday brighter. When she went searching for a charity to which to donate her stocking, she was overwhelmed by the demand from local charities for this type of sentimental, personalized donation. Parks quickly went on social media to ask her friends for help. Soon, her family room was filled with 50 of these stockings to donate locally.

Fast forward four years. Today Carolyn and her band of volunteer elves plan to stuff and deliver more than 2,000 stockings to several local charities. The beneficiaries of Stuffin’Stockings include young and old alike. Of course there’s a demand for stockings stuffed with small toys for children, but there’s also many local seniors (often overlooked during this season) who would love a stocking with new reading glasses, hand lotion, a pair of mittens and a small Tim Hortons Gift Card.

All of the stockings benefit local charities in and around Waterloo, Ontario like Kidsability, Marillac Place, Lutherwood, and Womens Crisis Services. The stockings are stuffed and delivered before December 20th, to make sure that they arrive in time for Christmas Eve.

There are many ways that you can support this wonderful organization:

• As a family, you can stuff one or two stockings of your own.
• Ask your boss if your company staff can stuff some stockings and donate them as a company
• Donate a few small items or a gift cards
• Next time you’re at the dollar store, scoop up a handle of stockings and donate them empty (Stuffin Stockings can never get enough empty stockings)
• Share this post on social media and encourage your friends to join in.

New to Waterloo is donating 20 stuffed stockings this year. We’re creating stockings for teens, filled with journals, calculators, ear buds, cell phone gloves, candy, and playing cards. We hope you and your family or business will join us in supporting Stuffin Stockings.

For ideas on great stocking stuffers, info on how to drop off stockings and more information on this amazing local initiative, visit Stuffin Stockings’ website at www.stuffinstockings.ca.