Plant a Seed for Peace
Fill your home or the home of someone you love with beautiful Poinsettias and Winter Greenery while supporting CISV Toronto's peace education programs.
CISV Toronto is a registered Canadian charity (CRA #890442379RR0001). Charitable receipts will be issued for cash donations only.
"If children from all over the world could meet and learn to live together, they could build lasting peace as adults."
What is CISV Toronto?
CISV Toronto is part of Children's International Summer Villages, a global organization that's like summer camp—but with a mission to change the world. Since 1951, we've been bringing together kids from different countries to live, play, and solve problems side by side for 3-4 weeks. Instead of learning about peace in textbooks, children experience it firsthand by sharing meals, stories, and adventures with peers who speak different languages and come from different cultures. What starts as curiosity about each other's traditions becomes lifelong friendships and a generation of young people equipped to build bridges instead of building walls.
Why CISV Exists
The scars of two world wars convinced Dr. Doris Allen that peace isn't built in boardrooms—it must be learned in childhood, before fear, prejudice, and division take root.
So she created CISV: immersive international programs where children starting at age eleven live, play, and solve problems together across cultures. This is not tourism. It's transformative education during their most formative years.
Why It Works
Children don't just talk about peace—they live it. For 3 to 4 weeks, they:
- •Co-create community with peers from around the world
- •Share meals, stories, songs, and conflict resolution
- •Learn to listen with curiosity—not judgment
- •Return home forever changed, with broader empathy and leadership
Why It's Volunteer-Led
CISV Toronto isn't a luxury—it's a movement. Our programs are organized and staffed primarily by volunteers—from teen leaders to retired professionals. This model:
- •Keeps programs affordable and accessible
- •Builds deep local engagement
- •Models global citizenship in action
Why Your Help Matters
"This past summer, my daughter spent nearly four weeks in São Paulo with CISV, living and learning alongside children from Ecuador, Denmark, Israel, Portugal, and beyond. She came to realize that the stories we carry about countries, people, and movements are rarely the whole picture. She came home believing that real understanding grows in the space between stories—when we share openly, listen with care, ask honest questions, and think things through together."
— David Rashid, CISV Parent & Volunteer
"I had the opportunity to take part in several CISV camps between the ages of 11 and 25. Those experiences shaped so much of who I am today. CISV helped me see the world through new perspectives. My three children have now participated in their own CISV camps. For them, other countries aren't just places on a map—they're where their friends live. They think about the world with empathy and curiosity, not fear or stereotypes."
— Matthew Cruickshank, CISV Participant, Parent & Volunteer
Now we're giving back—supporting CISV Toronto's fundraising efforts to help host camps in Toronto for kids from around the world and support the general operations of the Toronto Branch.
Support CISV Toronto
Purchase festive Poinsettias and Winter Greenery or make a cash donation to support our peace education programs.
Funds raised go toward:
- Hosting camps in Toronto for kids from around the world
- General operations of the Toronto Branch
How to Support
CISV Toronto is a registered Canadian charity (CRA #890442379RR0001). Charitable receipts will be issued for cash donations only.
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Questions?
Contact our fundraiser organizers:
