WINGS Spreads Joy in the Community with Christmas Fun Feast

The non-profit organization organizes a Gala Christmas Lunch for a greater cause

Joyeeta Ray

“WINGS has two arms. On one hand our non-profit organization has created a platform for South Asian women entrepreneurs and professionals to voice their business visions, network and establish new connections. The second arm is our own vision to have a component of social service that is taken forward by the women professionals who feel enriched in giving back to the Canadian community,” says Sanjukta Das, founder of the organization.

From her vision and the strong support of a team of dynamic, dedicated board members, WINGS, a GTA-based non-profit organization, was born to nurture, grow and support both enterprising women professionals from all walks of life,as well as women in difficult life-situations.

Today, over 250 members have connected with each other to explore business opportunities and serve the community. Apart from other unique ventures such a trade show for home-based women vendors with limited clientele to reach out to a bigger audience, WINGS also organizes an annual Christmas “Fun Feast” with a unique angle.

“Joy Baskets” for the Ernestine’s Women Shelter

In the spirit of giving during Christmas, WINGS held a gala lunch in December 2017 where members of the organization got together not just to exchange name cardsin a fun way but also to expand their hearts by donating generously to distressed women and their children at the Ernestine’s Women Shelter in Etobicoke.

WINGS collaborated with theshelter to create a wishlist of necessities for the women and children to celebrate the festive season. Custom gift packs, called “Joy Baskets”, were created by the members to be distributedto each one in the shelter.

Rubina Abid took the initiative to volunteer the venture from the forefront. Her reason was simple. “All these years in this country, I lived a self-involved life, looking after my child, home and career. At WINGS, I met ladies who were involved in so much more.” The event motivated her to actively join in, not just to standat the back of the queue but to lead it actively from the front line.

Rubina realized the need to traverse around the GTA to collect the gifts and cash donations that the members were generously contributing. She sent out a message to the group seeking help to collect the contributions from door-to-door. In no time, she had a team of over 10 volunteers who join her reach out to all corners of the GTA, from Vaughan, Scarborough, Oakville, Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto, to do the needful.

The volunteers met up to shop for gifts, congregated in homes to wrap them in attractive baskets and melted many hearts at the shelter. In the process, they created new connections professionally and personally.

In 2017, numerous Joy Baskets were created carrying assorted items from hygiene products, scarves, hats, gloves and socks, to meet personal needs. Kala Narayanan, a Board Member who played a prominent role in the flight of WINGS through numerous successful events says, “we initially organized the 2017 Christmas Fun Fest in a smaller restaurant but the response was so overwhelming that the venue was shifted to the spacious Versailles Convention Center in Mississauga to accommodate all participants”.

Following the stupendous success of the previous year, this year, members are attempting to take it to the next level. The group of volunteers are bigger; the intentions are stronger; the enthusiasm to make a difference to the community is greater.

WINGS Christmas Fun Feast 2018 will be held on December 16^th (Sunday) at Rose Garden Banquet Hall, 6628 Finch Avenue W, Etobicoke, ON M9WoB3. Tickets: $40 for members and $50 for non-members.

For tickets, please contact Kala Narayanan:9056777000; Sanjukta Das: 4167227403;

Anu Thind: 6477613226; Nillia Lal: 6478687394.