Grace Church, Markham’s Story

“Grace means love given freely and without expectation of return.”

Archbishop Justin Welby

Moorelands Kids’ Century Club, introduced in our 100^th year, is made up of dedicated donors who have been giving to Moorelands Kids for twenty years or more. This Valentine’s and Family Day we wanted to celebrate the love and generosity of Grace Church, Markham, a Century Club church partner whose congregation has been supporting Moorelands Kids for almost thirty years!

Every Christmas, the parishioners of Grace Church, Markham provide Christmas gifts to the children in our after-school programs. This year, thanks to their generosity, 92 BLAST kids received a toy, a hat and mitts!  We’re also very grateful to be beneficiaries of the fundraising efforts of Grace Church, Markham’s ACW who support our Send a Kid to Camp campaign every year!

Happy to Share with those in Need

The Rev. Canon Nicola Skinner, Grace Church’s priest, explains how participating in Moorelands Kids’ Christmas Sharing is a “much-loved tradition.”

“Everyone is always incredibly excited to participate! Around Thanksgiving time, our parish receives the names and ages of the children we will be supporting – there’s always a huge rush on the table to pick up a name! Everyone is so happy to help; happy to share gifts with those in need.

For Nicola, making an impact in the community and taking her faith outside the walls of the building is important.

Bringing People Together

“The Sunday before advent, the children in our parish bring the gifts up to the altar to be blessed.  Grace Church is a vibrant, multi-cultural and multi-generational community.  The program brings people of all ages together. For the older folks, it’s exciting to buy presents for children. I know that it gives people a lot of joy to pick a present for a child, especially knowing that it might be the only thing they get. We are all very happy to be able to support such a good cause. We intend to do it for many years to come!”

We are so grateful to the community at Grace Church, Markham for all they do to support our Moorelands Kids’ family. Thank you for giving your gifts and sharing your strengths with those in need!