'One Stop Holiday Drop' collecting toys, food and money for families in need
Want to make the holidays special for families here in Waterloo Region?
All it takes is a donation on your next shopping trip.
A ‘One Stop Holiday Drop’ event was held at the Canadian Tire at Kitchener's Sunrise Plaza on Friday, and CTV Kitchener’s Will Aiello was there to find out what families need.
A donation bin was set up for new and unwrapped toys for CTV’s Toy Mountain campaign.
“Last year, in this region, we distributed 6,500 toys to 6,500 children,” said Maj. Pamela Pinksen, executive director at the Salvation Army. “This year we’ve seen a 30 per cent increase, at least, in the need.”
While they get a lot of toys for children between the ages of four and eight, the Salvation Army said it really needs more donations for kids from nine to 12 as well as newborn to 3-years-old.
The ‘One Stop Holiday Drop’ event is also collecting non-perishable donations for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.
“One in every fourteen households need emergency food assistance,” said Michelle from the organization. “So the need is there. The cost of living is spiking and people are struggling to put food on the table. They’re having to choose whether to pay for their rent, whether they put gas in their cars, or whether they’re putting food on the table.”
The items they're running short on at their warehouse are dried pasta, pasta sauce, granola bars and canned vegetables.
Financial donations are also welcome and in many cases, they can make a bigger impact.
“One dollar equals two nutritious meals,” explains Michelle. “That goes a lot further because we’re able to buy food for our warehouse where we’re able to fill in some gaps.”
The Canadian Tire store at Sunrise Plaza also donated $1,500 to the holiday campaign on Friday.
“We love to give back to the community and want to say thank you to everyone who has donated so far,” said store manager Sheila. “We want to help the families and kids in need in the area. It’s just a great feeling to be there for people. It’s great to finally be able to give back.”
Donations can be dropped off at the following Canadian Tire locations:
- 1400 Ottawa Street South, Kitchener
- 385 Fairway Road South, Kitchener
- 1080 Victoria Street North, Kitchener
- 400 Weber Street North, Waterloo
- 656 Erb Street West, Waterloo
- 325 Arthur Street South, Elmira
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