After dropping off a $200 donation to the local Salvation Army earlier this fall, Frank Hoffman, the Associate Dealer of Kemptville, ON’s Canadian Tire store (located at 311 Ryan’s Well Drive), was surprised to see how bare the shelves were at the organization’s food bank. That’s when he learned how great the need was in his community: the food bank was experiencing a 30% increase in people using their services and didn’t have the donations to match the demand. With times being tough and the holidays around the corner, Frank went on a mission to do some good – and he inspired an entire community to get involved.
Frank turned to his Canadian Tire Auto Service Manager, Samantha, to ask if she had any ideas for an interesting fundraiser. As both a mom and a community member who felt passionately about making the holidays special for kids, Samantha came up with "Stuff a Cruiser with Toys": a challenge to fill a police vehicle with donations. Not only was the local OPP enthusiastically on board, the fire station asked to be involved, too.
The ideas and the interest in the fundraising event grew quickly, ultimately culminating in a big community gathering called The Spirit of Giving Toy and Food Drive on November 12th. As families were encouraged to donate food, toys, pet supplies, and cash, they were treated to lots of activities and fun. This included a chance to climb a fire truck ladder, play in a bouncy castle, practice hockey skills with the Kemptville 73's Jr A Team, and take pictures with holiday characters. The local radio station also broadcast live on location to support the event.
By the end of the day, the team filled a police cruiser many times over, a pickup truck, and a Canadian Tire shuttle van with toys, pet supplies and food – all of which went to the North Grenville Salvation Army. Beking Poultry Farm generously donated their 5-tonne truck to take all of the donation items to the Salvation Army. In total, 1,300 pounds of food, 300 toys and $2,600 was donated!
“This wouldn’t be possible without Samantha’s efforts and the 25 volunteers, many of whom are team members at Canadian Tire,” said Frank. “It’s because of their work and the generosity of the people of Kemptville that the food bank had its biggest event in ten years – at a time when it mattered most.”