Toy drives scramble to meet demand as more families in Ontario struggle to afford Christmas
Global News
Most toy drives will be getting ready to do their final push for donations over the next few days, and it’s a push they say is desperately needed.
Most toy drives in Ontario will be getting ready to do their final push for donations over the next few days, and it’s a push they say is desperately needed.
With so many families struggling, toy drives throughout Ontario are seeing an increase in the number of families needing help with the holiday season and some are expierencing a drop in donations.
“I think it’s mostly because a lot of families think they can do it, and they think the cheque is coming in, and they think something’s going to happen, and it doesn’t. So they don’t ask until the very last minute for help, and then all of a sudden they’re scrambling,” says Christmas for Kids president Myrlene Boken.
Boken, whose charity helps families living in Innisfil, Ont., says they are hearing from more families in general needing help this holiday season and hearing from more people at the last minute.
Five years ago, the group had 253 families by Dec. 9 in need of Christmas presents, but Boken says they had 654 families by the same time this year, with more requests still coming in.
While the need is higher, the number of toy and financial donations are not.
“We certainly don’t have as many toys and things as we have in the past. However, we’re going to make do, and we’re going to make it work,” Boken says.
“It’s definitely more of a challenge. It’s taking us longer to do the hampers than in other years.”
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