THUNDER BAY -- For the last eight years, the Toy Mountain at Cranton Wellness Centre has grown a little higher.
“As we know through the years donations go up and down but for the last eight years, they’ve been growing here,” said Mervyn Halvorsen, executive director of the Salvation Army in Thunder Bay.
The annual toy drive collects toys for children ages 18 and under every year for the Salvation Army to distribute at their community soup van throughout the holidays.
This year about 300 toys were donated.
Halvorsen said every year the children are ecstatic to receive the gifts.
“They’re overjoyed. It’s wonderful to see the smiles on the kids’ faces, but also on the parents knowing their children are happy and they’re having a Christmas,” he said.
This year has been especially difficult, Halvorsen said, noting the May flood disaster hit families hard.
“A lot of the children lost all their toys,” he said. “This way we can help to give them the extra and allow them to have a very merry Christmas.”
Alan Cranton started the toy drive after being inspired from a friend who ran a similar program in Ottawa.
And the partnership between the centre and the Salvation Army is a welcomed one, said Halvorsen.
“The Cranton Wellness Centre has been wonderful. They’re great people here,” he said, adding a special thanks to the centre’s clients.
“They way they just give, we’re extremely happy,” Halvorsen said.
