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Fraser Valley Toy Drive returns to Abbotsford

Second annual event set to occur on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 360 Fabrication
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The Fraser Valley Toy Drive returns on Saturday, Dec. 10. (Submitted)

The Fraser Valley Toy Drive is back.

The second annual event, presented by 360 Group of Companies and the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau, returns on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Participants are asked to drop off their unwrapped donations at 360 Fabrication, which is located at 31450 Peardonville Rd.

“We are very pleased to host this event again this year,” stated 360 Group of Companies president Rick Francoeur. “Last year we were honoured to be asked by the LMCB to assist in refilling Santa’s sack after the historic flooding created unprecedented need across our province. We put out the call and our team, customers and people across the Lower Mainland stepped up, donating thousands of dollars in cash and thousands of toys for children of all ages. When they asked if we were in again this year we didn’t hesitate.”

The team at 360 Group of Companies is kicking off the event with a donation of 60 bicycles.

“We felt that a new bicycle under the tree would be a special gift for a young person, so we worked with Canadian Tire here in Abbotsford to ensure that we had many different sizes so that older children also got something special this year,” Francoeur said.

Organizers stated that they will accept all donations, but are focusing more on older children this year. They suggest items like hairdryers, gift cards, makeup and other items that older children can use.

They added that last year’s inaugural toy drive was a big success and they hope to repeat the efforts for this year.

“Last year we saw fantastic response from people across the region to the 360 toy drive,” said Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau Executive Director Chris Bayliss. “We were particularly grateful for gifts for older children, things like hair dryers, makeup and gift cards, ensuring that young people who are often overlooked during toy drive events also had a gift under the tree on Christmas.”

The LMCB works with up to 40 other bureaus and agencies across BC each year, providing material support, and shipping more than 100,000 items to them for their holiday programs, as well as acting as the Christmas bureau for Vancouver residents, where they assist an average of 1,000 families annually. The Bureau also distributes over $70,000-worth of supermarket gift cards to those families.

RELATED: Fraser Valley Toy Drive in Abbotsford supports Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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