Diwali Fundraiser for Our Place Youth Shelter

Diwali is my favourite season!

It’s always been a time for me to meet with my family, eat yummy Indian food, pray, and do fireworks. I know we all must have joyful memories around this time.

Diwali symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. Every religious community and region of India may celebrate it differently, but the jist of Diwali is celebrate the goodness in the world and to be better individuals.

In efforts to decolonize our own mindsets around the giving season, as a part of the South Asian diaspora I think that Diwali is the most appropriate time to give back to the community.

This is my first time doing this, but I would like to shine some light on Our Place Youth Shelter.

Our Place is a registered non-profit agency that provides shelter, support and hope for homeless and at-risk youth aged 16-24 in the Region of Peel.

They have around 40 youth and 6-10 staff onsite, making the fundraiser goal pretty reasonable!

I would like to donate 200 samosas ($50) and around 15 pounds of fish pakora ($100-$150).

A little goes a long way and if you don’t have the means to donate, please make sure to share!

Happy Diwali!

More information about Chand:

Chand Bhangal (she/her) is a local activist, community event organizer, content creator and educator from Brampton, Ontario. She is passionate about decolonization, anti-oppression, and trauma informed work. She specializes in creating safe spaces, programs and events for BIWOC, she has had successful events and initiatives such as fundraising initiatives for vulnerable and displaced populations in South Asia, poverty reduction work for Indigenous populations, wellness events for BIWOC and informative gender based violence prevention campaigns. Most recently she has started a book club, to raise more awareness about gender based violence while creating an accessible and safe space for BIWOC to discuss literature. She currently is a Peer Champion for the Ontario Council of Immigrants Serving Immigrants (OCASI).

You can learn more from her Instagram @chandbhangal