The 2023 Great Nanaimo Toy Drive has officially wrapped for the season, with organizers saying it was one of their best years to date. (The Great Nanaimo Toy Drive on Facebook)

By Jordan Davidson

huge effort

Donations come up big for Great Nanaimo Toy Drive

Dec 18, 2023 | 3:37 PM

NANAIMO — The 2023 edition of the Great Nanaimo Toy Drive has wrapped up for the year, and it may be one of the most successful toy drives in its 41-year history.

This comes after organizers were worried about an increase in registrations to receive gifts wasn’t keeping pace with the number of donations.

One of the event’s organizers Janet Mirau said while they’re still counting up the final figures, at least 800 local families were supported this year.

“Between the individual donations of each and every citizen in Nanaimo who really found it in their hearts to make those contributions, from our amazing ambassadors…we are just so incredibly grateful to the community for making sure that we were able to continue to deliver on efforts that we have done for 41 years.”

Mirau said those 800+ families work out to over 1,600 children, their largest effort to date.

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Around 30 per cent more people registered to receive a gift this year, when compared to 2022.

“We had a huge cash donation from Western Forest Products that allowed us to really know that we’d be able to meet those needs,” said Mirau. “Their $10,000 contribution really pushed us over the top, and we knew then that we were going to be able to make it happen.”

While the donations from the community help make the toy drive a huge success, Mirau can’t thank the hundreds of volunteers putting in thousands of hours of effort to make this possible.

“It’s super heartwarming that people really do these things truly from the bottom of their heart. Our volunteers are the people who make it happen.”

Donations can still be made through the holidays at a few locations around Nanaimo until Christmas at their drop-off locations at Woodgrove Centre, Nanaimo North Town Centre, and Country Club Centre.

The items will be kept in storage until the next toy drive launches in 2024.

A complete list of drop-off locations and gift idea suggestions is available on the Great Nanaimo Toy Drive’s Website.

Plenty of new stuffed animals for kids of all ages were donated to the toy drive this year. (The Great Nanaimo Toy Drive Facebook page)

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jordan@Nanaimonewsnow.com.

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow