Firefighters and paramedics shopped ‘til they dropped for a good cause Monday.
The second annual Hometown Holiday Heroes event took place at Tanger Cookstown Dec. 18. Roughly a dozen Innisfil Fire and Rescue firefighters and County of Simcoe paramedics combined forces to hand over a cheque for $9,848, the proceeds from a boot drive held in the mall parking lot over the Black Friday weekend, then took off to stores to shop for local families receiving assistance through the Christmas for Kids (C4Kids) program. The donation was bumped up $5,000 by Tanger.
“The impact (this) has on our organization is huge,” C4Kids vice-president Debra Harrison said. “The numbers have tripled over the last five years. The items they’re purchasing is for specific items children have requested. We are so grateful. We appreciate all the support. Innisfil has a need. We have such generous residents and businesses.”
Tanger stores also honoured first responder discounts and had many of the items pre-bagged for pickup.
“Being part of this event means so much to me, we’re very grateful,” paramedic Kieran Babbage said, holding several bags as he walked alongside colleague Nicole Manahan. “We’re very happy our organization lets us do this.”
C4Kids has gone from serving 12 families during its first holiday season in operation in 1996 to what will likely be more than 250 this December. In fact, more than 700 children are expected to get support through the organization this holiday season.
Harrison said C4Kids takes the financial stress off parents and allows them to pay bills while still ensuring their children have a happy holiday season.
“Christmas is a stressful time of the year for a lot of people,” she said. “Without support from this kind of stuff, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.”
Firefighter Eric Helwig thanked residents who donated during the boot drive.
“We’re more than willing to help … whatever we can do,” he said. “We know lots of families may not be as fortunate as others. Our job today is easy. We’re just showing up and doing what we can to lend some extra hands and make sure the gifts go to the right places for the people who need them. This time of year, it’s always nicer to give than to receive.”
C4Kids is a registered charity incorporated in 2012. Donations made now stay within the community and surplus is kept in inventory to support the organization’s other year-round initiatives.
For more details, visit christmasforkids.ca.
