The Archdiocese of Toronto’s annual ShareLife parish charitable appeal accrued an all-time-high sum of $14,433,674 in 2024, surpassing the 2023 record by more than $200,000.

This total is even more remarkable considering the reported devastation wrought on the charitable sector by the 32-day postal strike from November to December, when for many charities donations came to a standstill. ShareLife and others also could not issue awareness pamphlets in the mail.

Arthur Peters, ShareLife’s executive director and the archdiocesan director of development, said the organization responded nimbly to this situation.

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“In the face of the fact we couldn't mail things out, we turned to social media, we turned to emails to reach out to parishioners who hadn't contributed, and the community responded very generously,” said Peters.

Greater Toronto Area Catholics had an extra incentive to come through the last couple of months as an anonymous donor bigheartedly agreed to match up to $500,000 in matching donations. Because of the reliable generosity of ShareLife donors, Peters said much good can be accomplished by the 42 social service agencies the charitable fundraising arm of the Archdiocese of Toronto supports.

“The work of our agencies is helping families in crisis with counselling,” said Peters. “We (offer) support for individuals who are widowed, who are single or having challenges. It's for seniors, children, young mothers, people with special needs. It is for international programs that support the evangelization of the Church in the developing world and also projects in the developing world like providing food for children.

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“We're very grateful to the parishioners and donors in the Archdiocese of Toronto, who once again have made sure ShareLife’s a priority in their charitable giving. They recognize the work that the agencies do and they want to support it and we're very, very grateful for that.”

ShareLife — in partnership with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto — has also been responsive to the persistent issue of food insecurity by contributing $750,000 in food grants, which was dispersed among 34 food banks and meal programs.

It is also key to note that ShareLife’s parish appeal is complemented by a corporate campaign, which collected a robust $1.2 million in 2021. Banks have perennially contributed to this fund. Peters said that a total of over $18 million was raised when you combine the fruits of the parish and corporate efforts with the monies the organization collected from Catholic schools, archdiocesan employees and other miscellaneous endeavours.

In the coming weeks, the ShareLife team will decide upon an objective for its 2025 parish campaign. Last year the charitable arm sought $14 million. Will the target goal elevate in 2025?

“We recognize that this is still a very challenging economy,” said Peters. “There's a lot of uncertainty right now, of course, you know, with the potential for tariffs and dealing with those issues. So, we're cognizant of that, but at the same time, the agencies need more help. They need to run the programs that they're doing, and we want to support them as much as we can.”

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Promotional materials for the 2025 campaign will be unveiled in the coming weeks. Three ShareLife Sunday parish collections for the Toronto archdiocese’s 225 houses of worship have already been scheduled for March 30, May 4 and June 8.

To learn more about ShareLife and the non-profits it supports, visit sharelife.org