CORNWALL, Ontario – Sparky the fire dog and his team of Cornwall Professional Firefighters made their way around the city on Friday, Dec. 13 in a big bus collecting big donations for this year’s Sparky’s Toy Drive.
The philanthropic pooch stopped in at various participating locations throughout the city, including the Cornwall Square, a number of downtown businesses and Benson Certified Auto Service.
Benson has been participating in the toy drive for over 25 years and a brief, energetic celebration was held when Sparky arrived to collect a variety of donated goods around 1:30 p.m. Sparky and the gang sang a few Christmas tunes and engaged in a dance session with staff, Mayor Bernadette Clement and Santa!
Donations were delivered to the Agape Centre where they will be sorted and then distributed on Friday, Dec. 2o at the Civic Complex with food baskets also being distributed by the Children’s Christmas fund.
“We will distribute around $85,000 in food and around $40,000 in toys on one day,” said Terry Muir, President of the Optimist Club of Cornwall. “Most of the 14 member clubs will be involved. There will be in excess of 150 volunteers that day.”
Several organizations participate in Sparky’s Toy Drive annually in effort to ensure every local family has food on the table and every child has a gift over the holidays.
