The Burlington Dads took over Toys R Us on Appleby Line on Sunday morning to cap off their fourth annual toy drive and fundraiser. All toys and gift cards purchased went straight to the Salvation Army Burlington Community Church, where families in need would choose their holiday gifts over the following days.
The Burlington Dads’ Jamie Kozub says that they raised $25,000 this holiday season, thanks to generous donors and sponsors.
The Dads brought their families along to help pick out their favourite toys and games so that other kids can have an exciting Christmas morning. Sponsors who donated $1000 or more were also invited to bring their families to fill a shopping cart or two with toys; gifts for older kids and teenagers were the main target on Sunday to fill in some gaps for the Salvation Army.
For many of the families, this is now a Christmas tradition. Dad Matt Stevenson was there with his teenagers Nikki and Chris to fill a cart with toys for 10- to 13-year-olds. Chris’ strategy was to choose items that would capture his own interest “for at least a few minutes,” despite being older than their assigned target age group; Nikki’s first picks were Santa-hatted plush Stitch toys (Stitch, of the movie Lilo and Stitch, seems to be all the rage again) and nail polish kits. For Stevenson, it’s an important life lesson for his kids, to focus on giving back to the world, and other people, rather than taking.
Farshad Nekoui, one of the Burlington Dads’ “Founding Fathers,” also shared that spirit of giving with his four kids, who added their picks to the pile. He is equally proud, though, of the community the Dads have built amongst themselves. Nekoui, an optician and owner of Vision Clinic, remembers the beginning of Burlington Dads as a Facebook group where men could ask to borrow a tool, or find a fellow dad to help them lift something. It’s become such a close-knit group, Nekoui says, that dads who find themselves at a low point in their lives can make a post, and “within seconds, there will be an offer to get drinks or just talk.”
Nadja Schmeil, Nekoui’s wife, adds, “What they do is unique — I’d love a mom’s group like this. It’s about mobilization. When they want something done, within a week, it’s done.” She is proud of all the work the Burlington Dads do, how they all jump in to help one another and the wider community.
Another long-time Burlington Dads member and group administrator, Shaun Spence, was shopping with his wife Shanette and their sons Landen and Fenix. He, like the other Dads, has noticed an increase in need this year. Spence also echoed the importance of modelling giving back to the community for his kids.
“I love doing this, showing and teaching them, helping other people who aren’t as fortunate.”
Shanette adds, “I can’t even tell you how proud I am of them, they’re a great example for our young men.”
As for the kids, they had fun picking out toys. Landen’s favourite pick was a Perplexus puzzle ball, something he played with at school.
Bryce Coates’ daughter Britton says, “It’s fun!” She really liked picking out the Harry Potter series of books to add to the pile. Thirteen-year-old Diyana Sanghera, there with dad Jivan Sanghera of Circle Mortgage Group (one of the “proud sponsors” of the toy drive, he says), enjoyed choosing the puzzles and Barbies for kids a bit younger than herself. “Stuff I used to like,” she explains.
Kozub is thankful to the local businesses who “really stepped up this year” to get to that $25,000 total, helping the Dads fill over 25 shopping carts full of gifts. After spending all that money, the Dads, spouses, and kids helped to load up a truck to take everything over to the church and unload there. Over next few days, pre-registered families who need a bit of help this year would shop the toys collected and purchased by the Dads and other generous people who donated directly to the Salvation Army.
As well as helping the Salvation Army give scores of families a better Christmas, the Dads are setting up their own kids to become caring members of our community. Neighbours helping neighbours, dads helping other dads — it all adds up to make Burlington a brighter place year-round.
