In the News! SHARE toy drive starts with $10K from Port Moody firefighters
Posted on November 20, 2024 by
SHARE toy drive starts with $10K from Port Moody firefighters
Source: Tri-City News https://www.tricitynews.com/local-news/share-toy-drive-starts-with-10k-from-port-moody-firefighters-9846568
After a $10,000 donation from the Port Moody Firefighters Charitable Society this week, SHARE will host a toy drive from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, at Coquitlam Centre mall.
Reporter: Janis Cleugh
A toy drive for Tri-City families in need this holiday season already has $10,000 in the bank thanks to the Port Moody Firefighters Charitable Society.
On Nov. 20, the smoke-eaters made their annual donation to SHARE Family and Community Services, the region’s social services agency, for the toy campaign.This year, SHARE hopes to collect 1,500 new, unwrapped toys for kids and youth — a number that’s up from the 2023 run “because of the number of children needing our services,” executive director Claire MacLean told the Tri-City News on Nov. 21.
On Saturday, Nov. 23, SHARE will have a kiosk at the northern end of Coquitlam Centre Mall (2929 Barnet Hwy.) to accept toy donations from noon to 4 p.m.; there will also be family-fun activities and photos.
MacLean said the push is for gifts for tweens and teens because “in their middle and high school years, they are aware what’s going on with their families and they understand the financial stress they are under. They may also be looking at their peers who are getting a lot of presents like makeup, clothes and gadgets, and feeling left out. They feel it so much more acutely at that age.”
Here’s the SHARE toy wish list:
Ages six to 10
Ages 11 to 13
Ages 14 to 17
MacLean said she recently heard from a SHARE volunteer who recalled receiving a SHARE toy gift as a teen when her family was struggling. She expressed how grateful and relieved her mother was to have the donated presents for her kids.“Teens, especially, are at a critical time in their lives,” MacLean said. “A small gesture can be a life-saving difference for them.”
The mall also will match any Coquitlam Centre gift card donation to the toy drive.
Donors unable to get to the toy drive on Saturday, Nov. 23 can drop off their new, unwrapped gifts at the:SHARE food bank (2615 Clarke St., Port Moody)mall toy kiosk (opens Dec. 2)SHARE gift wrapping station (opens Dec. 7)
Santa Fox 50/50 Meanwhile, for the fourth year, the Vancouver radio station CFOX 99.3FM is running its Santa Fox 50/50 draw for SHARE.Tickets for the fundraiser are available online until Dec. 17, 2024. The winner will be named at 8 a.m. on Dec. 18 on the Jeff O’Neil Show. Last year’s recipient took home $252,127.
Photo: The Port Moody Firefighters Charitable Society presented $10,000 on Nov. 20, 2024, to Darcel Moro of SHARE for the society's annual toy drive before the holidays.via Darcel Moro for SHARE
About SHARE Family & Community Services
SHARE Family & Community Services is dedicated to connecting, engaging, and strengthening families and individuals in the Tri-Cities.
Media Contact:
Claire MacLean
Chief Executive Officer
SHARE Family & Community Services
604-540-9161 ext 133 (direct line) | 778-227-1906 (cell)
Claire.MacLean@sharesociety.ca
*Terms and conditions apply.
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