The need will be great as refugees begin to arrive in Canada.

Today the federal government announced one hundred million dollars in aid to the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees.  The aid is intended to help Syrians fleeing the civil war meet their basic needs. The money will go toward providing food, clothing, medicine, schooling and other necessities. Individual families are reaching out, too, to offer what help they can, including an Ottawa family who has turned their house into ‘donation central.’ Their motto is ‘cold weather, warm welcome’ and that's what they are about to do, filling their house with donated goods to welcome the refugees when they come.

The house in Kanata is in a new suburb and Tariq and Shabana Baig feel very lucky to call it home, given the experiences of the Syrians fleeing their own houses.

"Imagine if suddenly someone come here and say get out of your home, stay on road," says Shabana, a mother of four, "what would be the feeling if you lost everything."

With that thought in mind, The Baigs decided to open up their house to collect donated goods. Almost every square inch of the house is filled.

"Major appliances, kitchen appliances, furniture, you name it, everything," says Tariq Baig, a physicist who came from Pakistan nearly 20 years ago.

Shazia Mirza and her husband Naukhaiz stopped by with a box full of clothing.

"It’s men’s jackets, different sizes, small, medium and large," says Shazia, "all new."

Now, the Baig’s family room is brimming with boxes of clothes. The basement is filled with small appliances and mattresses. Even the garage is crammed with stoves and microwaves.

And this is just part of the stuff they have collected. There are three other basements and a storage unit full of electronics and bedding.

Initially, Shabana Baig wanted to fill her house with people.

"At first I think how many people can I accommodate in my home," she laughs.

She quickly realized there was a better way to meet the growing desire among our population to respond to the Syrian refugee crisis.

"Everybody asking how can we help, so I say okay, let's start from my home. You can come to my home and bring things to my home."

And bring, they have. The Baigs, who are part of the Muslim Coordinating Council of the National Capital Region (MCC-NCR), figure they can furnish apartments for about 50 Syrian families right now.  What the council really needs now are volunteers, especially those who speak Arabic.

"If the hosting family needs Arabic translation, our volunteers are going to be there," says Akbar Khanani, with the Muslim Coordinating Council of the National Capital Region.

The Baigs have responded to humanitarian crises in the past, including a flood and an earthquake in Pakinstan.  They say responding now is just what Canadians do.

"I feel it is our collective responsibility when people are in a disastrous situation to help," says Tariq Baig.

The Baig family is running out of room in their house to store goods.  They are looking for volunteers, too, to offer up space and perhaps transportation to move some of the goods. Tariq Baig can be reached at tjbaig2000@yahoo.ca.  The MCC-NCR can be reached at http://mccncr.org/.