Magic happens at the Santa Claus Fund warehouse

There are 50,000 gift boxes in an Etobicoke warehouse, ready to go out to Toronto area kids for Christmas.

They are piled almost two metres high and arranged by age. The boxes are stuffed with books, cookies, a toothbrush and toothpaste, baby wipes and cream, a toque, mittens and yes, the all-important toy.

This week they will be sent to depots across the GTA where volunteers will collect and distribute them just in time for the holidays.

It’s all part of the Santa Claus Fund, the program that helps underprivileged children and families in need. It has been part of Toronto Star history for 117 years and has evolved over the decades thanks to Star readers who donate. In recent years 45,000 gift boxes went out to kids — that number has been upped by 5,000 for the 2022 campaign.

It takes an organizational and logistical miracle to make it all happen. Frank Salerno is the warehouse supervisor, overseeing the 35,000-square-foot operation for three months of the year.

“We’ve got it down to a science,” he said on a busy weekday afternoon, excitedly sharing his work in the operation while also keeping a close eye on the day’s productivity. “If you miss out on one thing, you’ve missed all deadlines.”

It starts in mid-August. The $1.5 million in donated funds is used to buy the box supplies before the operation kicks into high gear in a top-secret location, just like Santa’s place in the North Pole.

The team of staff and countless volunteers work five days a week all day — and some nights — to pack the lively green boxes and sort them into piles arranged by age, from infant to 12. Supplies come from Scholastic, Toys “R” Us, Sobeys and Colgate, among others. All of it is tucked into the boxes carefully and covered in white tissue.

From there, the “shopping” stage begins. Workers are handed labels with the names and ages of children supplied by social service agencies. They collect the boxes and label them carefully (“Not one part can be out of place,” I’m told when given the chance to prepare a few). Boxes going to the same house are stacked and strapped together before they are placed into new piles divided by postal code.

It’s a lot of hustle. One worker says she logs more than 30,000 steps on a shift. She may be pushing a little harder this year. There have been fewer volunteers due to COVID-19.

“When you are shopping, you are walking in circles but that’s when the program comes alive,” Salerno said. “You have an idea who you are packing for and what this will bring them.”

Behind the scenes Meghan Halverson, manager of Star Charities, handles the planning as clerk Beth Galvez is at the ready to assist, working on the books and on the phone to donors who call in. Their office walls are covered with notes, plans and a giant map of the GTA broken down into delivery zones.

As the holidays approach, boxes move on to pallets acquired from the Star’s former printing plant in Vaughan and readied for the depots set up in churches, community centres and empty storefronts.

Shipping out of the warehouse starts Wednesday Nov. 16 and continues for eight days. Two five-tonne trucks arrive each morning at 6:30, pack 3,000 boxes into each load and head out to drop them off at the depots, organized into 50 specific zones.

The trucks and labour are all donated.

Volunteers, often including Star journalists and their families, step in from there to deliver boxes directly to families in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Pickering and Ajax. Some have had a chance to connect with the volunteers and make lifelong friends.

Any boxes that go undelivered will be sent to shelters, with nothing left behind.

“I can’t say enough about volunteers,” Salerno said. “Some come three times a week. Without them, we couldn’t get it done.”

Brian Bradley is a Hamilton-based journalist who works for the Star’s Public Editor and podcast teams. Follow him on Twitter: @brianjbradley

GOAL: $1.5 million

TO DATE: $291,417

How to donate

With your gift, you can help provide holiday gift boxes that inspire hope and joy to 50,000 underprivileged children.

Online: To donate by Visa, Mastercard or Amex, scan this QR code or use our secure form at thestar.com/santaclausfund

By cheque: Mail to the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund, One Yonge St., Toronto, ON M5E 1E6

By phone: Call 416-869-4847

The Star does not authorize anyone to solicit on its behalf. Tax receipts will be issued.

To volunteer: scfvolunteer@thestar.ca