The Leaside Toy Drive community initiative is in its 19th year. With the goal of providing a Christmas gift for each child in all primary schools in Flemingdon and Thorncliffe Park neighborhoods of Toronto.
In 2021 we procured and distributed over 4,000 toys!
We are thrilled to announce that we had exceeded our targeted fundraising goal in 2021. Due to everyone’s amazing donations, we were able to fulfill our mission and make sure each child received a gift.
Thank you to everyone who ensured no child in the four schools went without a toy last Christmas. All the toys were personally delivered to the participating schools. School Principals and teachers then arranged assemblies and holiday festivities to distribute the toys to each child.
For the 2022 season the Leaside Toy Drive has set a goal of providing $30,000 in toys to 5 primary schools in the Flemingdon and Thorncliffe Park neighborhoods. Every donation makes a difference and helps bring a smile to a child’s face.
We work directly with toy manufacturers and distributors to procure toys at a significant discount, enabling us to provide gifts with good overall quality and value.
We could not have achieved this level of success without our amazing sponsors and donators.
Thank you for being a part of the Leaside Toy Drive fundraising journey
As one of Toronto’s lowest per capita income communities, our neighbouring areas, Thorncliffe and Flemingdon Park, is experiencing a serious food shortage during the Covid pandemic.
The Neighbourhood Office in Thorncliffe Park (TNO) has started a focused effort to support 400 families and seniors that are deemed at risk . The initiative was originally started by TNO (The Neighbourhood Organization, not for profit) and lead volunteer and local resident Aamir Sukhera. The food drive has grown exponentially over recent months, supporting over 800 families and 250 seniors and is now known as the TNO Food Collaborative.
Team Toy Drive decided to join their fight as we believe our mandate is to help our neighbouring community whether it is with toys or food. With the help of corporate, local and individual donations, the Toy Drive has been able to secure over $275,000 to date in goods and monies for the TNO Food Collaborative. The mayor even pitched in to help!
Aamir Sukhera – TNO Food Collaborative Lead
I would like to thank Leaside Life for providing us a forum to say a big thanks to our friends at the Leaside Toy Drive for their indispensable contributions in not only feeding hundreds and hundreds of families every month but also with the overall creation of the new foodbank in Thorncliffe Park, the TNO Food Collaborative.
Without the generosity of the corporations you reached out to and the overwhelming support of the people in Leaside and Davisville that you were able to generate, these families would have gone hungry over the first wave of the pandemic. While we pray that there is not a second wave, at least now thanks largely to you, we have solid infrastructure in place to feed our community (we are already the 3rd largest member of Daily Bread Food Bank!).
We would not have got here without you Team Toy Drive. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your contributions and lasting relationships which allow the foodbank to be sustainable ongoing. Most of all though, thank you for all your time and for literally being side-by-side with us during the dark and desperate early times. We did not know what to do and you gave us the knowledge, support, and motivation to keep going.
It is my hope that this letter can help to initiate other affluent areas and non-affluent areas in Toronto to develop similar relationships.
We know that you will need to work harder than ever in this difficult year to raise funds to buy and deliver gifts for all the primary school children in our community. Please know that you can count on our support to be side-by-side with you to help you reach your goal.
