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Police launch Toys for Tots By John Bkila OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF While the 13th annual Toys for Tots holiday campaign is already underway, the official kickoff took place Friday. The fundraising drive is a joint partnership between the Halton Regional Police Service, Canadian Tire, The Salvation Army, Mandarin restaurant and Halton Honda, and sees toys and gifts donated by local residents to less-fortunate families living in Halton. "In our communities, we can't forget, even as lucky and affluent as we are... there are a lot of kids that need our help and families that need our support, especially during the Christmas season," said Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner. Held at the Canadian Tire store at 1100 Kerr St., the kick-off event also featured the Toys for Tots Honourary chair -- and 2012 Olympic bronze medallist -- Mark Oldershaw, who captured the bronze medal in the 1,000-sprint canoeing final in London, England. "One of the best things since winning the bronze medal in London, 3 · Wednesday, November 28, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com "There are lots of kids that need our help and families that need our support, especially during the Christmas season." Chief Stephen Tanner, Halton Regional Police that's happened to me, has been sharing that moment back at home, especially with kids and seeing the smiles on their faces," Oldershaw said. "I think putting a smile on a kid's face is one of the best things that we can do in life and one of the best ways to do that is to give them toys. It's a simple thing to do and a great initiative." Members of the Minor Oaks Hockey Association (MOHA) in Oakville and the Burlington Lions Optimist Minor Hockey Association (BLOMHA) were also present to help encourage the public to take part in the fundraising drive -- the two hockey associations collected more than $95,000 for last year's Toys for Tots campaign and are challenging others to meet or beat their record this year. This season's campaign received a jumpstart with Mohawk Racing presenting a cheque for $5,000 and Kerr Village BIA donating $1,000 towards the Toys for Tots campaign. In 2011, the program raised a record-breaking $316,000 (made up of toys, gift cards, cash and food), which was used to help out more than 3,500 local families in need. These totals exceeded those in 2010 by close to $136,000 and more than 500 families. "This campaign is really important to The Salvation Army... especially with the growing number of families that need assistance," said Aisha Chaney, co-ordinator of community and family services for The Salvation Army of Oakville. "In Halton, we don't always realize that we have a lot of people that need our help." Toys for children, aged 10 and up, and teens are especially in need -- gift suggestions include: · Gift cards for $20 or $25 for malls, stores and movie theatres See Partnership page 7 MICHAEL IVANIN / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER / @halton_photog Santa's Helpers: Halton Regional Police Chief Stephen Tanner speaks at the launch of the 13th Annual Toys for Tots Holiday Campaign in partnership with Canadian Tire, The Salvation Army, Mandarin restaurant and Halton Honda. Behind Tanner are wrestlers Tiger Jeet Singh, and his son Tiger Ali Singh, right. The Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation announced its new partnership with Halton police. NOW TO TRAIN DELIVERING HIGH QUALITY TRAINING TO OAKVILLE FOR OVER 25 YEARS... ALL DOMINION DRIVER TRAINING AND TRAFFIC EDUCATION CENTRES LIMITED WE WANT YOU! LUNCH AND LEARN ABOUT INVESTMENT FEES DATE Wednesday, November 28th Thursday, November 29th Lunch : 12:00pm - 12:45pm December 22, 23, 27, 28, Sat, Sun, Thurs, Fri 9:30am to 3:30pm January 2, 3, 4, 5, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, 9:30am to 3:30 pm DriveWise goes beyond basic driver training with our 3 step approach: 1. Dynamic & fun classroom teaching with hand held technology 2. Simulator drive training labs. 3. One-or-One in vehicle training LOCATION Peter Watson Investments 220 Randall Street, Downtown Oakville get registered. get trained. get driving. 905.845.7200 www.drivewiseoakville.com MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI Peter Watson Free Parking To reserve your seats email us at info@peterwatsoninvestments.com or call us at (905) 842-2100 Ext: 2 (24 hours) www.peterwatsoninvestments.com