Boat show charts course for kids
Annual event has donated almost $200K to the fund in the span of 16 years
When the summer sun heats up, many Canadians escape to the lake to cool off, bringing their boats, their kayaks, their canoes and their sense of adventure.
The Toronto International Boat Show, an annual event marketed as North America’s largest indoor boat show, is a destination for many to find what they’re looking for. And for the last 16 years, it has been donating the money raised through ticket sales and live and silent auctions from its preview day to three charities, including the Fresh Air Fund.
The fund gives grants to camps to subsidize fees for underprivileged and special needs kids from the Toronto area each summer. It’s been around since 1901. This year through the fund, 50 residential camps and 52 day camps will be giving 25,000 kids the chance to escape the city and explore the great outdoors.
Last year, 2,400 people attended the preview day, and the boat show donated more than $16,000 to the Fresh Air Fund. In 16 years, the show — which turns 60 next year — has raised almost $200,000 for the fund.
“It really is a VIP experience,” said Cynthia Hare, the show’s manager, of the preview day, which will run on Jan. 12, 2018, at the EnerCare Centre at Exhibition Place.
The event features live music, bars and, because it’s more exclusive, attendees can get a one-on-one experience when learning about the boats — without the crowds, Hare said.
“(Attendees) also like that feeling of giving back,” she added.
“Boaters are very generous, givingback people and . . . they give back to the kids that maybe might not have that opportunity to be out on the water. For many of (the kids) it’s the first time.”
When selecting charities to partner with, Hare said, it was important to find ones that had an element of the outdoors, boating, children and adventure.
“That’s the kind of people who get into boating — it’s people that have a love for outdoors for adventure and that feeling of freedom out on the water away from your every day life just brings a lot of happiness to people. So that was just a great, really nice fit.”
The ultimate goal is to help kids find calmer waters, Hare said. Goal: $650,000 How to donate: With your gift, the Fresh Air Fund can help send 25,000 disadvantaged and special needs children to camp. The experience gives these children much more than relief from summer heat: it gives them a break in life and memories to last a lifetime. Our target is $650,000. > By cheque: Mail to The Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund, One Yonge St., Toronto, ON M5E 1E6 > By credit card: Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or Discover, call 416-869-4847 > Online: For instant donations, use our secure form at: thestar.com/freshairfund The Star does not authorize anyone to solicit on its behalf. Tax receipts will be issued in September.