“When they started to open up the gifts, they were just amazed. There was such a wide variety of stuff in each box individually tailored to them. Getting a little something extra like this means, a lot to the kids. It gives them a sense that people actually care.”
Esther Rowe, mother of two recipients
“The arrival of those boxes just before Christmas was a life-saver for our family. We were just absolutely overjoyed and excited.”
Margaret Sheppard-Bromberg, now 88, received the boxes during the Great Depression after her father lost his business after the stock market crashed in 1929
“This program (Star Boxes) is going to help me out a lot. It’s hard, day to day, being a single mom, so I’m going to really appreciate that she (daughter) gets something a little more.”
Maranda Williams, 21-year old single mother
“My parents divorced when I was quite young. It wasn’t a happy marriage and when they separated, my mom ended up raising me and my three sisters, and of course we had very little to rely on.One of the things we could count on every year was the support of that box. It meant a great deal to me and that stuck with me right through my childhood.”
David Narciso, former recipient
“My childhood eyes waited in wonder around Christmas time each year for this sight to manifest. As a first generation Asian-Canadian in Toronto, I came to understand Christmas and all its power of giving, but as a kid, it was really just about presents … it was more of a surprise than anything. But as an adult, I’ve come to cherish this gift so much more. This gift imprinted on my young mind that it is possible to trust others, that some people give strangers things, and most importantly, that I wanted to become one of those people. I have lived up to at least that one childhood goal, taught to me by the magical appearance of red and green boxes.”
Annie Chan reflects on her childhood memories
“I knew there was poverty but I never realized the extent of it. In a huge city like Toronto with huge wealth, people are living in unbelievable circumstances. You can read about the poor neighbourhoods but you absolutely don’t know until you walk into some of those buildings and see the state of them. In some cases there were five or six children in cramped apartments, some living in leaking basements.”
May Dunphy, recalls her volunteer experience delivering gift boxes
“I truly believe children should have at least one gift to open on Christmas Day. If everybody does a little bit, then all will be helped.”
George Halnan, 10-year donor to the Santa Claus Fund
“There is so much inside the box. This is very important for us. Thank you very much.”
Athula Peiris, father of two children
“The experience impacted me so profoundly.”
Asha Kumor, delivery volunteer on recalling how she felt after seeing the happiness she had brought to families with the Star boxes
“It just makes you appreciate everything you have when you see these kids and realize this may be their only gift, it’s really rewarding.”
Jamie Gnanapragasam, delivery volunteer
“I’m a real marshmallow when it comes to kids.”
Naznin Lakha, delivery volunteer, can’t bear to see children without presents on Christmas
About 16 years ago, I read an article about the process of packing and delivering the boxes and the thousands of volunteers it took to make Christmas happen for the less fortunate. My kids were grown so we now had another opportunity to give back. That year, with my daughter as my co-pilot, I started delivering boxes. During that first year of deliveries I got a very good understanding what this monumental effort was all about. We had just delivered boxes to an apartment and as we walked away we could hear the shrieks of joy.
Mr. Lennox, former recipient, and his family (read their story)