GUELPH – Trees for Tots had a record breaking year, raising over $93,000 for the community.
The Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington’s annual Trees for Tots event took place the weekend of Jan. 9 after being deemed an essential event by the City of Guelph and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
In its ninth year, this fundraiser had a record breaking year, collecting over 4,100 trees and raising over $93,000 – a $25,000 jump from last year’s total.
All funds raised from the event go directly to the foundation’s core programming to help build brighter futures for local children and youth.
“This year was a big jump from last year, which was to be expected after seeing how fast tree farms sold out of trees this year,” said Emma Rogers, CEO of the foundation.
“Between many families staying home this year instead of travelling, as well as an increase in those who wanted to support those in need this holiday season, we knew we would see an increase in numbers, but we are blown away by the support we’ve seen this year.”
Rogers added, “Raising an additional $25,000 will allow us to help even more children this year – whether that is by giving them the opportunity to achieve their post-secondary school dreams, providing them with nutritious food, or even helping them register in sports – those dollars will go a long way to support the children and youth in our community.”
The event was deemed to be an essential service as it is a form of waste collection, and the foundation worked hard to ensure the event was safe for everyone involved.
“The safety of our staff and volunteers is always important at this event, and this year we took additional measures to ensure that all the safety guidelines were being followed and that all of our volunteers felt safe to participate,” said Children’s Foundation outreach manager Brenda Walsh.
“Every volunteer was given a safety kit upon arrival which included masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer donated by Spring Mill Distillery.
“They were also COVID screened before starting their volunteer shift. Anyone working outside was asked to continue to keep their distance wherever needed, and anyone driving in the event was driving with a member of their household only.”
All of the trees collected will be returned to nature through various environmental outlets.
Some will be sent to Ignatius Jesuit Centre for their walking trails; others will be kept whole and donated to organizations such as Trout Unlimited Canada for creek restoration projects, and Conservation Halton.
This year’s event was presented by the Champion Mortgage team, which has come on as the presenting sponsor of Trees for Tots for five years.
Other event sponsors include Alliance Roofing, M&T Printing Group, Kam’s Auto Service, Junk Hungry, Routific, Impact Mobile Signs and Tim Hortons.
Foundation officials expressed gratitude for the continued support of the event’s lead partners: JL’s Tree Service, Jamie’s Lawncare and Hersey Bins.
All equipment for the event was donated by Battlefield, Full Circle Tree Care, Sloot Construction, Sunbelt Rentals, Premier Equipment Rentals, Baum Professional Tree Care, Grand River Group, Bob’s Towing and the Township of Puslinch.
Officials also thanked the City of Guelph, Wellington Catholic District School Board, the County of Wellington, and all of the incredible volunteers.
