The holidays are peaking this weekend and in the coming few days. This means that we are amidst the season of good deeds. For many, the idea of a good deed is getting that new top-of-the-line e-reader for our parents, or surprising your sister with designer boots.

But if the holidays are really a time for giving, then why not actually send the gift of giving this season. Donating to Toronto East General Hospital (TEGH) is one way to really make a difference.

TEGH is always accepting monetary gifts (even after Tuesday!) and whenever the contribution comes, it will be put to great use.

Toronto East General is currently undergoing a $211 million expansion as part of its Redevelopment Campaign.

Teresa Vasilopoulos, president of the TEGH Foundation, proudly describes how funds gathered from the campaign will go toward adding another wing to the hospital, improving services, furnishings and equipment.

Vasilopoulos calls the new nine-storey wing one of the “largest investments in infrastructure in eight decades.”

What a great gift to the hospital – and to all of us in this community.

So instead of giving someone a box of chocolates or a sweater they won’t wear, why not make a donation on behalf of your friends and family towards life-saving equipment and making a patient’s stay far more endurable?

The Redevelopment Campaign “will improve accessibility and comfort,” Vasilopoulos said. “Any little bit helps.”

The plans come as a great relief to members of the community. For instance, Sharon Golding, who had recently visited the hospital, says she would appreciate consistency in service.

She says that while she was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses were accessible and always around. But after two days in the ICU, she says she was transferred to another room, where service wasn’t as good.

“In the [ICU] everyone was nice and took care of you,” she joked. But after transferring, “I almost have to use a stick to grab the things I need.”