Thirty-four years after starting a workplace bottle-drive in Scarborough, John Gray is still trying to put smiles on faces.
“Families are hurting to pay the rent, buy food,” Gray said. “Obviously toys are the last thing on their mind. That’s where we come in.”
Gray is the organizer for A Child’s Smile, an annual charitable campaign that raises money for children’s toys during the holiday season.
Since its GTA beginnings, the campaign has followed Gray throughout his life, as he moved around southwestern Ontario.
The charity and its leader have been in Stratford for about 10 years.
Gray estimates some 21,000 toys have been given to children across the province. Just last year, the organization raised $10,000 and gave 800 toys to children in Stratford and area. He hopes that this year they can achieve that again, though noted that may be difficult given the rise of the cost of living.
There’s a grassroots feel to Gray’s campaign, which runs without an office or official location, but does have coordinator Doris Neumeister.
They knock on doors, entreat the community to donate, and deliver the toys themselves to various area organizations: Stratford House of Blessing, The Salvation Army, and Optimism Place, for example.
Gray has also learned that there is more than one way to make a child smile. Last year they began donating to the Mikanakoos Children’s Fund out of Thunder Bay, a charity that provides food, clothing, and other supports to Indigenous children living in Northern Ontario.
Gray said that he discovered the organization through his Indigenous daughter. A $700 donation last year bought 300 can openers for families in the region
“It’s still a smile,” Gray said.
Revival House in downtown Stratford is the venue for a silent auction on Saturday. Organizers are asking businesses to donate items – anything and everything – to for auction.
The silent auction is free to attend and will feature live music. It takes place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Toy and financial donations are welcome as the organization purchases toys at cost and they have more buying power than the average consumer.
Donations or inquiries can be made to [email protected].
