Holiday help for 80 East Toronto families in need thanks to AccessPoint Danforth and local realtor Carolyn Griffis
By ALAN SHACKLETON
Local realtor Carolyn Griffis and her team of enthusiastic volunteers and supporters have made the holiday season easier for 80 local families this year.
On Friday, Dec. 20, Griffis will be delivering holiday hampers with toys, food, winter clothing and other donations to 80 families in the East Toronto area as part of program in partnership with Access Alliance community services
Griffis has been working with AccessPoint on Danforth (just east of Victoria Park Avenue) for the past 17 years to help collect donations for local families in need over the holidays.
“This year has been a record year for the need that is out there,” she told Beach Metro Community News on the afternoon of Wednesday, Dec. 18, as she and volunteers sorted a mass of donations in a room at the Secord Community Centre on Barrington Avenue in East York.
“We are helping 80 families this year; 125 parents and 80 children. Access said this is the highest need they’ve ever had.”
The local families who receive the donations are vetted by AccessPoint and their information is then passed on to Griffis who begins the process of meeting their holiday needs.
Griffis talks to all of the families who will be helped to learn more about them, including number of children and ages, to find out what they need and what they would like. In most cases, the families and their “lists” are passed on to supporters who shop to fill that families needs based on ages of children and other factors.
“I reach out to each and every family and some of the stories are so sad. There are grandmothers raising their grandchildren, newcomers who have just arrived and have nothing,” said Griffis.
Born in the East Toronto area, Griffis grew up in North York but came back to live in the Riverdale area more than 25 years ago.
She said she became inspired to help out families in need over the holiday season while she on vacation many years ago and read about a similar campaign in a book she was reading.
“I decided I wanted to help others at Christmas and I showed up at Access Alliance and asked what I could do to help,” said Griffis. “I helped with the program for two years and then I took over responsibility for it 15 years ago.”
She said that his year, the campaign had 300 sponsors contributing donations.
A realtor with Re/Max Hallmark Realty on Danforth Avenue, Griffis said many of those supporting the campaign are fellow realtors but there is a wide range of residents who take part in helping. “There are realtors but there are also a lot of community donors, and some of them make huge donations every year.”
She also thanked her major supporters which are Re/Max Hallmark, the Michael Hyatt Family Foundation, and North Drive Development.
Despite a tough economy, which saw an increase in the number of families needing help, Griffis said there was no corresponding drop in the amount of help and donations coming from the community.
“I did not see any drop with the donors, they were so incredibly generous,’ she said.
Griffis said the happiness shown by the families when they receive the donations is a special moment, and that’s what will be happening on Friday, Dec. 20.
“The families they can’t believe it. Some of them are crying and they’re saying ‘thank you, thank you,’” she said.
As mentioned, winter clothing is also a key part of the donations given to the families and that’s something close to Griffis’ heart. “As a kid I was always cold, and I make sure everybody gets a hat, gloves and snow boots. For me, that’s even more important than the toys.”
