FERGUS – The 20th annual Fergus Lions Reliable Ford Toy Drive kicked off on Nov. 14 at Reliable Motors.
For the last two decades, the toy drive has raised money and donations of toys and gift certificates for the Centre Wellington Food Bank’s (CWFB) Christmas Hamper Program to ensure that no family goes without presents on Christmas.
“Christmas is a really hard time of year for the families that use the food bank. It’s really stressful because they don’t have a lot of money to start with and then Christmas comes.” said CWFB director Jackie Andrews
The 2018 drive opened with CWFB director Jackie Andrews accepting a cheque for $2,000 from the Fergus Lions Club.
“Christmas is a really hard time of year for the families that use the food bank. It’s really stressful because they don’t have a lot of money to start with and then Christmas comes,” said Andrews.“
The Fergus Lions Club are just phenomenal ambassadors for our community, having the toy drive so that other people in our community have a way of helping out.”
The toy drive runs until Dec. 12, when all the gifts and donations will be delivered to the Fergus sportsplex and sorted for the food bank’s hamper program.
Twenty-three members of the Lions Club were on hand to launch the toy drive, including coordinator Gary Waterhouse, who has helped organize the event for the last 12 years.
“For the last 12 years, each year we have surpassed the year before in the number of donations,” said Waterhouse.
The longtime Lion hopes the 20th anniversary will be no exception.
So far this year, the food bank has had 650 people use its services – about 35 per cent are children and youth under the age of 18 – and that number continues to grow.
“Over the years, there has definitely been an increase in the number of families having to use the food bank and therefore using this program. As rent goes up, everything goes up in price,” Andrews said.
On Dec. 12 and 13, families on the food bank’s list to receive donations will be able to go through the donations, sorted into age group and gender by the Lions Club and Food Bank volunteers, to select around three gifts for each child in their family.
And while youth maybe hard to purchase for, Waterhouse said it should not dissuade people from donating.
“Kids that are 12, 13, 14 tend to get forgotten when it comes to gifts,” Waterhouse said.
That’s when gift cards for restaurants or stores are a good idea as well, he added.
No gift is too big or too small, Andrews stressed.
“Any gift is great. It is one gift more than we would have had before,” she said.
“That way it reaches out to everybody who wants to support those in our community who are in such desperate need of our help.”
Those wishing to donate cash, gift cards or new, unwrapped toys can drop them off at Reliable Motors in Fergus (until Dec. 12) or at the Fergus Santa Claus Parade on Dec. 1.
