People will be able to assist the Angel Tree program during a toy drive at Canadian Tire in Estevan on Thursday and Saturday.
The drive will start on Thursday from 7-9 p.m., and Saturday from 12-6 p.m. People are encouraged to drop by the store and purchase a toy to support the Community Hamper Association’s Angel Tree program and place it in a fire truck, as the Estevan Fire Rescue Service will be on hand to assist with the drive.
Gary and Olga Young, who own and operate the Estevan Canadian Tire location, said they are providing the venue for the toy drive, as well as advertising and donations, and they have toys on sale, but they say it’s really the hamper association and the fire department who organize the toy drive, and collect and distribute the toys.
“It’s what we’ve done for years – supporting events that happen within our community, especially if they’re affecting or benefitting our local community as well,” said Olga Young.
She recalls a conversation with Community Hamper Association co-chair Char Seeman last year. Seeman said they were looking for items for young teenagers who aren’t into toys as much as younger children. But those teens still have needs and want to receive a gift.
So Canadian Tire is an ideal location, because it can accommodate young people of all ages.
Gary recalls seeing the toy store when it was at Estevan’s new fire hall, and marvelling at how many toys were donated.
“I was amazed to see how many gifts were laid out by age group and for each child, and the amount of work that they’ve put into it to pull it all together was quite impressive to see,” said Gary.
The toy store will be at St. Giles Anglican Church this year.
“A lot of people do get involved in making it a successful event all-around,” said Olga.
They look forward to seeing the community support the toy drive once again, and they believe the toy drive is an example of the whole community coming together.
Char Seeman said the toy drive will be important in helping the Angel Tree meet the needs of the community. As of noon on Friday, they would need 380 donations of toys and other items to meet the needs of the children of those who will be receiving a hamper.
“We have a lot of children who are going to go without if we don’t get the toys in,” said Seeman. “It’s going to be a big year for kids.”
Seeman is thrilled to have Canadian Tire and the fire department on board for the toy drive, and said it has been excellent for a few years.
It’s also great to have the fire truck out front.
Fire Chief Dale Feser said he is looking forward to seeing the truck stuffed with toys, so that everyone will be happy on Christmas Day.
He recalls that a few years ago, the hamper association was having a difficult time meeting the demand for toys, so the fire department helped out by raising awareness, to help them meet the requests.
“In order to meet the demand, we always help out every year just to make sure that they don’t get themselves into trouble where there might not be enough toys to go around for everybody,” he said.
The fire department now looks forward to this initiative every year.
“It’s definitely one of the best parts of our job. We get to go out and we get to socialize with all of the customers and the community members.”
