A seven-year-old walked up to Dave Wiltshire, a past chair of the Port Alberni Toy Run, with a small toy in his hand, trying to give it back. “Buddy, don’t you want a toy?” Dave asked him. “I got a couple of toys last year,” the boy said, “and they made me so happy, I wanted to give back to another little kid.” That’s the story Marnie Grimes told me on the Season 3 premiere of the PULSE Community Podcast, and it’s as good an explanation as any for why 70 volunteers still show up every year to pull this thing off.
Marnie’s been around the Toy Run since she was young enough not to admit how young, chairperson of an event that started with eight riders in 1984 and has grown into one of Canada’s largest community-run toy convoys – 1,463 bikes at its 25th anniversary alone, within striking distance of the world record. Over $3 million raised in cash, plus close to that again in toys, hampers, and equipment, all pulled together by volunteers who put in 5,000 hours before the weekend even starts.
Some of that money buys the obvious things: toys, gift cards, food hampers through the Salvation Army. Some of it is less obvious, like the $19,000 Marnie signed over to School District 70 last November for culinary, outdoor-living, and music programs, or the children’s dental equipment that means kids in the Alberni Valley no longer have to travel hours out of town for care.
This year’s September 20th edition adds a Battle of the Bands showcase to Saturday night’s dance, so a youth band opens for the Toy Run crowd before the pancake breakfast and poker run take over Sunday.
Hear the full conversation with Marnie Grimes on The PULSE Community Podcast at: https://bit.ly/S3EP01PulsePodcast
The PULSE Community website: ThePulseCommunity.ca.
Peter McCully is a multimedia creator and podcast host based in Parksville, BC. https://mccullymedia.ca/category/blog/