Innisfil firefighters were hot on the trail of a few great gifts for children in need Tuesday.
The third annual Hometown Holiday Heroes event took place at Tanger Cookstown Dec. 10. More than a dozen Innisfil Fire and Rescue firefighters handed over a cheque for $1,000, courtesy of Innisfil Professional Firefighters Association Local 3804, then took off to stores to shop for local families receiving assistance through the Community for Kids (C4K) program. The donation was bumped up $5,000 by Tanger.
Donning a Santa Claus hat and fire gear, Captain Chad Paiero says he’s been part of the previous two events and loves coming back.
“Everyone’s in a good mood here, everyone’s helping the less fortunate,” he said. “The guys on shift came here, too. It’s a good group of guys. Luckily, they didn’t get a call.”
The firefighters were given lists that included items requested by families participating in C4K. Tanger stores also honoured first responder discounts and had many of the items pre-bagged for pickup.
“Honestly, it’s amazing,” Body Shop manager Shabana Latifi said of the initiative, after handing over a bag. “It’s great to see the human race coming together to help each other through really hard times. It shows they care for the community.”
Tanger marketing manager Sheilagh Rennie stressed the need to support C4K, where demand has grown substantially in recent years.
The organization, which is in the midst of its annual toy drive, helped 205 families, totalling over 700 individuals — primarily children and teens — in 2023.
“We definitely saw a great need around the holidays for clothing and other items,” Rennie said. “It was just nice to be able to build our partnership with Innisfil Fire and get more involved in the community together.”
C4K 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 many year-round initiatives.
“This kind of support has certainly lightened the load so we don’t have to go out and shop for these specific items,” C4K vice-president Debra Harrison said. “The support is incredible. They’re looking after their neighbours. It was a lot of fun just being there. It takes the strain off our budget. We’re a non-profit organization so we rely on the community. Without this kind of support we could not meet the needs like we do.”
She encouraged people to give items this holiday season that are geared toward the tween and teen age categories.
“We struggle with those,” Harrison said. “They are difficult to shop for. We don’t want to give gift cards — we want to give them something to open up, like an electronic device. When you think about your own child … ours want the same kind of gifts.”
For more details on C4K, visit christmasforkids.ca. Monetary donations are accepted through CanadaHelps.
