Southlake staff, nurses, physicians and volunteers came together on December 15 to donate a mountain of toys to local families in need through York Regional Police’s (YRP) Holiday Heroes toy drive.
Southlake has been participating in YRP’s annual Holiday Heroes campaign for more than 10 years, helping the YRP to raise more than $2 million in monetary donations, new toys, new children’s clothing and food for families in need since the annual campaign began.
“Holiday Heroes is a staple for Southlake each year,” says Arden Krystal, President and CEO, Southlake. “It warms my heart to see the teams at Southlake coming together to demonstrate the spirit of giving and helping families in need. YRP is an important community partner and we are so pleased to be able to serve our communities together.”
Last year, YRP held more than 40 community events as part of the campaign and were able to support more than 150 families and individuals. Their online donations exceeded $16,000.
“We are once again blown away by the generosity that has been extended this year,” says Alvaro Almeida, Deputy Chief, York Regional Police. “Southlake’s donations will help deliver a happy holiday season to thousands of families right here in York Region. This includes families who are struggling to make ends meet, victims of human trafficking and survivors of domestic abuse, as well as their children.”
Friday, December 16 is the final day to drop off new unwrapped toys, new children’s clothing, gift cards or monetary donations at any York Regional Police facility. You can also donate at yrp.ca/hhdonate to help buy groceries and other items that are desperately needed such as winter clothing, diapers and formula.
Southlake’s Patient Access Team was able to work the Holiday Heroes Toy Drive into their annual Secret Santa exchange.
“We know this time of year can be difficult for many and we were looking for a way to support but also have some festive fun,” says Samantha Hennigar, Coordinator, Patient Access. “So this year instead of doing a Secret Santa exchange to buy each other gifts, our team drew names and bought a toy that best represented the person whose name they received, and then we donated those toys to Holiday Heroes. I hope someone is excited to receive Camping Barbie, based on my love of camping.”
