COMING UP

On Sunday, Nov. 22 from 9 a.m. to noon, local businesses, charities and families will come together at Lansdowne’s Horticulture Building for the Family Pyjama Party in the Capital hosted by two new local organizations — Kind Village and Pyjama Patrol. Entry is free with a donation of new kids’ pyjamas (size 0-18yrs). Donations of diapers and children’s soap will also be welcome. All proceeds will support the Youville Centre, Bethany Hope Centre and the Kanata Food Cupboard. Activities include a morning stretch, storytime and face painting, with appearances by the Ottawa Redblacks’ Big Joe, Riley from the Ottawa 67’s and Sparky from the Ottawa Fury FC. More details are on Twitter at @TheKindVillage and on Facebook at Kind Village. Poverty is a significant problem for families and children across the region. According to CHEO, one in six Canadian children live in poverty. About 38,500 Ottawa residents go to a food bank in a month, and 15,000 of them are children.

The Ottawa deadline to

give a bike online in the Bikes for Kids Christmas charity campaign is Nov. 24 but the deadline for bicycle and cash donations in person at the Dominion Lending Centres’ office is Dec. 10. To donate online, go to bikesforkids.com. This year, Bikes for Kids hopes to donate at least 2,500 bicycles to underprivileged children across Canada. Urban Barn’s fourth-annual Blanket the Country in Warmth campaign runs until Dec. 6. For every $5 in-store donation, the Barrhaven and Byward Urban Barn locations will deliver a new fleece blanket to Out of the Cold, a program co-ordinated by Knox Presbyterian Church in Ottawa.