December to Remember returns to Waterloo
Santa greeted children and their families Saturday for the 15th annual December to Remember event hosted by KidsAbility in Waterloo.
Seventy-five families were invited to drive up to the centre and receive not only a bag of toys for the young ones, but also a package for the parents.
Members from the Waterloo Regional Police Service and the Waterloo Fire Department were also present to welcome the cars.
All gifts given to the families were donated by members of the community.
“For some children, it’s their only opportunity to have a visit with Santa and for some children, it’s a bit scary to meet him for the first time so it’s a bit of a safer way to do it,” said Linda Kenny, CEO of KidsAbility.
Families were also given a gift card to visit the Gift of Lights display at Bingemans.
This was the third consecutive year that the event was done in a drive-thru format due to COVID-19.
“When we started planning it in the late summer, we still weren’t really sure what the status was going to be,” said Kenny. “We decided that we were going to do one more year of the drive-by, but hopefully next year we can invite families back into our centre.“
With many families feeling the financial pinch over the holidays, this was an opportunity for children to receive a special toy from Saint Nick.
“For some families that we identified as really struggling, we also have been able to put some grocery gift cards into their bag as well. It has been a very difficult year for many families, so our social work team is really great at being able to identify some of those families who may just need a little extra help,” Kenny said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.