How YOU Can Help MyCityCare’s Toy Drive Mission

What if a toy could do more than just bring joy? What if it could change a life? 

Carlin Lutzer sits down with Trevor Yeaman, Director of MyCityCare Foothills and campus pastor with Parallel Church. 

Trevor shares how this local nonprofit is spreading love and impact across the region, especially through their toy outreach programs that serve families facing financial hardship. 

Listeners will learn how MyCityCare goes beyond charity, offering practical help to those facing food insecurity, housing challenges, and emotional isolation, all rooted in the belief that helping “the least of these” transforms entire communities. 

Trevor also speaks about his personal journey and why this work matters more than ever as the holiday season approaches.

Listen For

4:25 What drives the mission behind MyCityCare Foothills?

6:01 What are the most urgent needs facing families in the Foothills today?

7:09 How does the Shop of Wonders bring dignity to struggling parents at Christmas?

11:35 How is the local Okotoks community stepping up to support?

13:18 How can people get involved with volunteering or donations?
 

Connect with guest: Trevor Yeaman, Director of MyCityCare Okotoks | Senior Pastor at Aspen Ridge Christian Fellowship

Trevor's LinkedIn| MyCityCare Okotoks| MyCityCare Okotoks Email | | Shop of Wonders 2025 | Donate | Facebook | Instagram

Connect with Carlin

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Facebook

Transcript

This is the Okotoks podcast, proudly sponsored by Carlin Lutzer Real Estate. Thanks for joining us.

Carlin Lutzer (00:18):

Before we get started today, I want to ask a favor, a really important one. If you're listening right now, please take a second to share this episode with a friend. Post it on your social media, or send it to someone who cares about our community. This year, more than ever, a lot of families in Okotoks and the Foothills are struggling. Simply getting this message in front of the right people can make a real difference if you have the financial capacity to help for even a little bit of time. Today's episode will introduce you to MyCityCare Foothills. An organization powered entirely by love, impact, and community generosity. They meet real needs right here at home, clothing shortages, financial emergencies, and the magic of the Shop of Wonders. A place where parents can choose Christmas gifts for their kids with dignity and zero cost. This year they have one more drop-off location to help stock their shelves of the Shop of Wonders.

(01:20):

A huge thank you to the businesses stepping up for our community. You can drop new toys off at Okotoks Preschool Academy. True Living counseling, Alberta Dance Academy, complete Health, brown Sugar Bakery Shop built strong evolution, McFarland agencies, main Street Market, thrive Chiropractic, foothills Cleaners, dynamic Physiotherapy, F 45 Okotoks, simply Floors and the Home Depot in Ottos. These businesses are the heartbeat of this community and they've opened their doors so families in need can have a Christmas filled with Hope. Today I sit down with Trevor, the director of MyCityCare Foothills, to talk about the mission, the programs, the needs, and the unbelievable impact this community has already made. Let's get into it. Well, Trevor, thank you for joining me.

Trevor Yeaman (02:18):

Oh, well, thank you for having me, Carlin.

Carlin Lutzer (02:20):

Absolutely. Now we are going to talk specifically today about MyCityCare Foothills, and for those that don't know you Trevor, and we'd ask, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and then lead that into how you got involved with MyCityCare Foot Health?

Trevor Yeaman (02:41):

Yeah, so just in about July moved into Ottos, not too far away, we were just in a small community of Dewinton prior to July. Lived there for the last four years and wanted to be more involved in community, and Okotoks was a place that we really saw as an opportunity, and it was through quite a few different events that came into contact with MyCityCare. And in about June, I was approached by the founder and asked if I would take on the directorship of MyCityCare for the Foothills. It has been known as MyCityCare Okotoks, but we really have a vision to expand beyond Okotoks. We still have a deep passion and a love for Okotoks, and it will always be MyCityCare OK tos, but we want to expand the vision throughout the foothills. And so became involved with MyCityCare as director for the Foothills Region in about June July of this year. And I've been just pressing hard. I'm also the campus pastor for Parallel Church in Claire's home. So it's a hybrid role. It's the first hybrid role for Parallel Church. So I serve as campus pastor in Claire's home, which is about an hour south of Okotoks. And I'm there about three days a week. And then the rest of my time I'm serving MyCityCare in the Okotoks and Claire's home region.

Carlin Lutzer (04:13):

Wow, you're a very busy man. For the listeners hearing about MyCityCare for the first time, what is the mission behind the organization?

Trevor Yeaman (04:25):

Oh, well, first of all, the two birds that we have on the side of any of our trailers or vehicles that you might see around would be for love and for impact. So we want to love our communities, but we also want to impact them. And our whole programming, everything that we do is centered around a simple piece of scripture found in the book of Matthew in the Bible, and it just talks about when you've done unto the least of these you've done unto me, it talks about providing clothing for those that are without feeding those that are struggling with food insecurities, helping those who have financial insecurities, visiting those who are imprisoned. And often when we think about the imprisoned part, we think about those who are locked behind bars and are there for a long period of time, but there are many people who are just simply imprisoned in their day-to-day lives by things that are crippling them, and that is finances, that's food insecurities, that's housing that is so many different things. And so we really want to be on the front lines of those things, and we know that there's a deep blessing in helping our communities walk beyond and provide stability for families who are struggling.

Carlin Lutzer (05:45):

Well, Trevor, you alluded to a few of the things that you provide to the community and it's outstanding. The things that you have listed right now. What are some of the biggest needs you see right now in the Foothills?

Trevor Yeaman (06:01):

Oh, my really good question. Carlin, listening to even some of your other podcast moments, even from the Food Bank, I would say that the economic crisis that much of our nation and particular province, and when you start getting down into the scope of smaller communities are experiencing food insecurities, financial insecurities, even clothing insecurity. You walk into a store today and the cost of clothing is just so expensive for many, many families, especially if you've immigrated here. So some of the largest needs that we have right now are meeting some of those financial food and housing and clothing insecurities.

Carlin Lutzer (06:55):

Right. You guys also do a few programs. You have the Up and Coming Shop of Wonders and also Dress for Success. Can you walk us through what those look like locally?

Trevor Yeaman (07:09):

Yeah, I think I should just mention here that MyCityCare has been present in the community for quite a few years. We did have a stable location, well a number of years ago. And then due to some circumstance and situations, we found ourselves operating out of storage units, approximately three storage units over the last number of years. And just recently we acquired a brand new home, a long-term home, and we're really proud of that because that will give us stability in the community and the ability to offer more programming. So as you mentioned, one of the things that we're coming into right now is our Shop of Wonders. Shop of Wonders simply is a program where we offer the opportunity for families to come in and shop for their children who are struggling financially, and they can come and pick brand new toys out for their children, age zero to 17, and we just want to make sure that they have a really good Christmas, take some weight off of their back.

(08:18):

And so we're launching that November 24th, and that's going to run right through till December 20th. And so one of the greatest needs with that right now is we need to stock our shelves with toys. And so brand new toys we would love to see to bless the babies, but right up to the age of 17 and Carlin some of those questions that often people ask, well, what is the greatest need? Well, sometimes the greatest need is our teens. They're the hardest to shop for. So gadgets of any kind would be fantastic. Earbuds, just anything gadgety they really enjoy. And then launching in probably about April in the new year, we'll be launching the next program, which will be the Cinderella Project Tuxedo Shop. So we want to really help our teenagers who've worked so hard to get to graduation but don't have the means to acquire a dress or tuxedo shoes, get their hair done, all that type of stuff. We're going to be launching that soon too.

Carlin Lutzer (09:20):

That's awesome.

Trevor Yeaman (09:21):

We also have two other locations that people could drop off at, which is simply Floors in Okotoks here, as well as the Alberta Dance and Drama Academy. They can also drop off from nine till four at Simply Floors and from nine till 12 at the Alberta Dance Academy.

Carlin Lutzer (09:41):

Right on. Well, that's great. Are those two businesses to help you guys out? That's spectacular. I had no idea that it was new toys that you guys are giving. So last year, how many people did you see come through Shop of Wonders? Do you have an idea as to how many people?

Trevor Yeaman (09:57):

So we serviced 1200 children last Christmas season,

(10:03):

And we are anticipating a bit of an increase this year. We're guesstimating and it's always a guess, but we're guesstimating about 1500 children and just due to simply the economic climate, teachers have been on strike, postal workers have been on rotating strikes, and there are some difficulties with that. In fact, I can tell you last year we had a postal worker come through who didn't know how to have a Christmas. They just didn't have the financial means because they were on strike, were struggling paying their bills and buying groceries. They were trying to prioritize everything came in, and we offered them a personalized shopping experience and they just walked out with a grin on their face and a big thank you from their heart for that opportunity.

Carlin Lutzer (10:51):

Yeah, that's awesome, man. That's a very powerful story. Yeah, because you're right, we are certainly in some interesting times and last year I think we could start to see some of the trends and things. And last year when it didn't seem as things are where they're at, like they are this year 1200. So I'm assuming 1500 certainly is a good guesstimate, right, that the numbers will increase unfortunately. But what a great organization. How are you seeing the local community support you through businesses or churches or volunteers? How are you finding the support?

Trevor Yeaman (11:35):

Yeah, the community of Vokes and the Foothills region has just been incredible. There's no doubt that businesses and the business folks and the visionaries of this community love their community and love the people and want to give everybody the opportunity that they deserve. And so we have many businesses who are very, very supportive with our programming. The Shop of Wonders, incredible generosity through the many businesses, and not just the businesses, but also just personal people who have either been through a circumstance and are giving back or just have the means and say, Hey, we can help change the circumstances of an individual. And so that's really great. The churches we're doing our best to collaborate together and would always love to work more with them. In fact, our heart is to come alongside and we hope that they will come alongside as well. I mean, these are folks who are changing their communities in their own way and we're all serving the same people. So yeah, we really appreciate the other churches within the community as well. And yeah, just love Okotoks together. Yeah,

Carlin Lutzer (12:53):

No, for sure. So you mentioned that people can donate to the Toy Drive, but there's other places that they can deliver their toys for kids between zero and 17 years of age. How else can people help out, no doubt, through donating their time, money? What other things are you guys looking for from the community?

Trevor Yeaman (13:18):

Absolutely. So we recognize that volunteering is something that changes the heart in many of our spiritual communities. We send people away to a mission experience hoping they'll grab the heart of missions and change their lives a bit. But we recognize that we've got that same mission right here in our backyard. And to offer volunteer opportunities where people can come in and do some gift wrapping during the Christmas season for a family just to visit with them to offer some hospitality, finances always help as well. And the generosity of a community to build a greater legacy in changing lives is always just a wonderful thing. So volunteering is probably one of the greatest aspects, and I really do think that volunteering offers the greatest opportunity to change hearts and lives, right from the youngest to the oldest. Sometimes we say, well, kids just kind of get in the way. Oh my goodness. We did our backpack packing program in the summer, and I had a group of homeschoolers come and they brought all their kids and they did. The kids did all the organizing of all the school supplies. And I thought, wow, how could we ever say that a child couldn't get the heart of volunteering or the heart of organizing? So we just embrace everybody within a community to come and give us a hand.

Carlin Lutzer (14:50):

Yeah, right on. Now, you mentioned food insecurities. Is that something that my CityCare does not leave that up to the food bank, or do you guys also collect food donations as well?

Trevor Yeaman (15:04):

No, really good question. Actually, I was down at the food bank. We formed a very good relationship with them, and our heart is to come alongside of them rather than take on the task that they've so graciously taken on and they're doing such a great job at the food bank. We want to help them rather than try and do something on our own. So their heart was simply, Hey, partner with us, and if you've got people who have needs, if they need transportation or anything, we can get them there. But yeah, the food insecurities is about partnering really.

Carlin Lutzer (15:40):

Yeah. No, that's awesome. And then what about donating clothes and all that stuff? Do you guys collect clothes or do you leave that up to other organizations as well?

Trevor Yeaman (15:50):

No. So we had put a pause on our clothing program. So we did have a store at one time where people can come and get a clothing for free. We had put a pause on that for a while because we didn't have a location, so we had a storage unit full of clothing, but it didn't make any sense to continue to pay for storage and sacrifice some of our other programming. So we'll be in a place in the new year to begin to collect some clothing. Again, we have been collecting jackets, boots, hats, mitts, gloves, all those types of things that would be for the winter season, which we're able to really handle at this time.

Carlin Lutzer (16:31):

Sorry, just to make sure I got that right. Right now you're taking on jackets, boots, mitts, gloves for the winter season, and then in the new year potentially looking at taking on the clothing aspect as well?

Trevor Yeaman (16:44):

That's correct. Yeah. We have plans on setting up a boutique store, so it's a smaller version of some of our other locations, but it'll offer folks a good variety of clothing that they'll need.

Carlin Lutzer (16:58):

Right, for sure. And when those places the boutique store opens up, would you charge a little bit of money for jackets and things like that just to cover costs or is that,

Trevor Yeaman (17:13):

No, the heart behind MyCityCare is simply to work with the generosity of the community and to give back into the community again. So we wouldn't be charging anything for our clothing. Any of our programming is absolutely free, and it's at the generosity of the foothills and the communities within the foothills. And the beauty of that is MyCityCare doesn't belong to myself. MyCityCare belongs to the community that it's functioning in. And so I think when people are donating out of the generosity of their heart, whether it's finances, whether it's food, whether it is toys, whether it is clothing, MyCityCare belongs to them, and we are collaborative efforts in changing our community together, we're just simply, I want to say a vessel, A means that people can do that.

Carlin Lutzer (18:07):

Just on what you just said, I think that is, there's so many different organizations we can donate clothes to and items and all those things, and I just think it's so valuable if people can show up and not have to pay. These organizations sometimes make a lot of money off of our donations. So we're doing something where we feel like we're doing something good and we are, we're donating to, and I won't start listing different organizations, but that's what I really appreciate about MyCityCare is that you guys aren't looking to make money off of the boutique and put a price tag of whatever on something, but you truly are. And Trevor, what I'm picking up from you is just the heart to serve the community. And if there's, it feels like if you guys all of a sudden a new need is developed, you guys will be on there to get going. Because I didn't know about the backpacks. You mentioned the backpacks and the backpacking, and it's hard to say the backpack packing, but

Trevor Yeaman (19:22):

It stopped the bus is what it's really called.

Carlin Lutzer (19:24):

But stuff the bus, that's amazing. So Trevor, I look forward to having you on Again, I want to get the word out as much as possible regarding your organization and what you guys are planning over the Christmas season, because I do think you're right, people are struggling and there's certainly a need there, and I look forward to seeing your new digs out there in Alder side very soon. And I certainly do appreciate you, Trevor, and what you're doing for this town, for the community of Foothills, and even as far away as Clara's home and driving there three days a week to serve that community as well. That's amazing.

Trevor Yeaman (20:03):

Thank you, Carlin. Really appreciate all you do for the community as well.

Carlin Lutzer (20:07):

You bet. Take care. Thank you for listening to the episode of the Okotoks podcast and for opening your heart to the mission of MyCityCare Foothills. Here are a few takeaways from my conversation with Trevor. MyCityCare is built on love and impact. Every program, every volunteer, every donation is rooted in serving people with dignity. This community plays the biggest role, the Shop of Wonders, food support, financial care, and the future Expansion of these programs all depend on the generosity of local people and local businesses. A little involvement changes lives, volunteering, donating a toy, giving clothing, or simply sharing this podcast, every action creates a ripple effect. If today move to you, please consider doing one of the three things. Share this episode so others can hear the message. Drop off a gift at any of the listed partner locations to help stock the shop of Wonders, or reach out to MyCityCare Foothills to volunteer to support one of these initiatives. As Trevor said, MyCityCare belongs to the community, and this community, Okotoks and the Foothills continues to show just how deeply it can care. Thank you for being a part of that.

Announcer (21:36):

That's a wrap on this episode of the Okotoks podcast. Thanks for tuning in. And thank you to our sponsor, Carlin Luzer Real Estate.