With the help of the community, 4,000 children in need will have presents under the tree on Christmas morning.
The Thunder Bay Professional Firefighter’s Association presented a $162,199 cheque to the Christmas Cheer Fund on behalf of the annual Toys for Tots campaign. The volunteer lead charity has been operating in Thunder Bay for more than 70 years, with 100 per cent of all donations going to children that would otherwise go without a gift during the holiday season.
Local firefighters play an integral part in the campaign, with 175 off duty individuals contributing their time this year. While this is no doubt a time consuming venture for those involved, a quick conversation with any of the volunteers shows that is the last thing on their mind.
“I sound like a broken record every year, but Christmas is just so important to children,” explained Thunder Bay Professional Firefighters Toys for Tots Chairperson Paul Penna. “It’s important to families, and it’s probably important to most people. Just the thought of any child going through Christmas without some kind of significant gift under the tree is really not that nice. For us to have a chance to make a difference in 4,000 children’s lives, it feels really good, it makes it all worth wild even though it’s a lot of work.”
There are a variety of local community partners that pitch in every year, including George’s Market, the Fighting Walleye, Firedog Communications and more.
While of course this is about the children, it no doubt ensures many parents can breathe a sigh of relief come Christmas morning.
“I can speak on the fact that some of those parents have come to me and told me how much it means, they are just so thankful and they feel so devastated that they are not able to do that on their own,” stated Penna. “I’ve had so many thanks of people who just feel so much gratitude as to what the firefighters can do.”
The cheque this time around while not a record breaker, is the biggest number the campaign has raised in five years.
In 2020, the Toys for Tots Campaign raised $144,000.
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Firefighters with 2021 Toys for Tots Cheque (STAFF PHOTO – Vasilios Bellos)