What to know
- Toronto Joy has grown into a community of nearly 450 members, connecting volunteers with local nonprofits and community initiatives across the city.
- Founder Amar Khanderia created the organization to make volunteering more accessible while helping people build meaningful, in-person connections.
- Volunteers support organizations like Good Shepherd Ministries and Fred Victor through meal programs, clothing drives, community events and other outreach initiatives.
- Khanderia hopes Toronto Joy will continue expanding its partnerships and become a central hub connecting volunteers with organizations that need support.
For Amar Khanderia, volunteering is about more than lending a helping hand; it’s about creating meaningful connections and building a stronger community.
The founder of Toronto Joy launched the grassroots volunteer initiative to make it easier for Torontonians to give back while connecting with like-minded people.
What started as a small Meetup group online has grown into a community of nearly 450 members who regularly volunteer with local organizations, participate in community gatherings and take part in conversations centred in personal growth and connection.
“I want to build a family,” Khanderia told Now Toronto. “You come together, you have social events, you chill out, you connect in such a meaningful way, and you build a sense of belonging, a sense of trust, a sense of companionship.”
While Toronto Joy officially launched just over a year ago, the inspiration behind it began decades earlier.
Born and raised in Toronto, Khanderia completed university before travelling to India, where a visit turned into more than a decade living in an ashram led by his spiritual teacher.
During that time, he helped establish vocational training centres for women, computer learning programs for youth and water treatment projects serving dozens of rural villages. Alongside community service, he spent years learning mindfulness and meditation — experiences he says changed the ways he viewed service and purpose.
“When you consistently take your mind off yourself and you’re doing something for the greater good, there’s less stress, less focus on your problems and more joy,” he said.
After nearly two decades away, Khanderia said he found himself searching for community while noticing more conversations around loneliness and social isolation.
Creating a space to give back and belong
“I was reading that 52 per cent of the population of Canada feels lonely,” he said. “How can you actually bring people together – connection, belonging, feel like they’re part of something, something good and meaningful?”
That question eventually led him to create “The Journey Home,” an online community focused on personal development, before launching Toronto Joy as a way to bring people together in person through acts of service.
Now, the two initiatives operate under the Toronto Joy umbrella, offering both volunteer opportunities and community discussions.
The volunteers regularly support organizations including Good Shepherd Ministries, where members help prepare and serve meals, sort food donations, and organize clothing for people in need.
The group also partners with Fred Victor, connecting volunteers to community events and opportunities that match their interests and skills.
According to Khanderia, one of the reasons the organization has grown so quickly is because it removes barriers for people who want to volunteer.
“People were saying, ‘We want to volunteer, but we just don’t know how.’ Now we can come to one place and see different volunteer opportunities.”
Beyond helping local charities, Khanderia believes Toronto Joy is creating something equally valuable: a place where strangers can become friends.
Building a more connected Toronto
“I think everyone wants to feel loved. You want to have that sense of connection with people,” he said.
Through the organization’s volunteer work, Khanderia has also witnessed some of the city’s growing challengers firsthand, particularly around mental health.
“You can see they’re not doing so well in the mind space,” he said of some of the people accessing community services.
“That’s something that they need more help with.”
Despite seeing those challenges first-hand, his experience has also reinforced his belief that Toronto is filled with people eager to make a difference.
“I’ve met some amazing people. Toronto is full of phenomenal people, really intelligent people, bringing those things together to make an impact.”
Looking ahead, Khanderia hopes to expand Toronto Joy’s partnerships with nonprofits and eventually create a platform that directly connects charities with volunteers based on their interests and skills.
But regardless of how much the organization grows, he says its purpose will remain the same.
“It’s just what’s in the title. Joy, not just from the outside, joy from within yourself.”
