Canadian matching service will connect immigrants with host families for Thanksgiving

Oct 4 2016, 7:15 pm

Share Thanksgiving is a turkey-based matching service that’s mission is to connect immigrants with host families for the holidays.

The nation-wide service staffed by a handful of volunteers aims to bring together new Canadian families and established Canadian families to break bread, converse, compare notes on similarities and differences, backgrounds, and perhaps even provide a primer on Canadian customs, winters, and other valuable tidbits for newcomers.

The concept, first founded in 2012 by Parker Mitchell (co-founder of Engineers Without Borders Canada), isn’t new, though it’s back after taking a hiatus in 2015. Moreover, the match-making service seems as timely as ever following the October release of an Angus Reid’s Canadian Public Opinion Poll that found that:

45 years after multiculturalism became government policy, most Canadians (68%) would prefer to see minorities doing more to “fit in” to mainstream society. That said, the same number say they’re satisfied with the way newcomers are integrating into their own communities.

“Now is a great time to show that we are a welcoming nation” said Share Thanksgiving representative, Francis Kung when speaking with Daily Hive via telephone. He goes on to say the service is “a great way to help people struggling to settle in… and make them part of our community.”

How it works

  • Sign up online
  • Get matched via email introducing hosts and guests to one and other
  • Arrange the dinner details, discuss transportation and dietary restrictions
  • Share a meal together on the big day.

The deadline to sign up for a match is this Friday, October 7.

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