Gift box meant world to child of the 1940s
Daughter carries on family tradition of donating to fund that was special to her mom
The only present underneath the tree at Margaret Alice Peter’s home one Christmas morning in the 1940s was a Santa Claus Fund gift box.
The lonely, decorated present remained in her memory for the next 70 years.
Days before she passed away at the Mississauga Hospital last December, she urged her daughter, Crystal, to not forget to donate to the fund, as she had done for more than five decades.
“I know how important it is and especially to her, because I remember we would talk about it over and over again,” Crystal Peter said. “She held on to that box for a very long time. That box never left her head.”
Inside the box, she told her daughter, there was candy, a hat, a toy and her favourite item — a pair of red mittens.
The Star Santa Claus Fundis a charity initiative that provides and delivers Christmas gifts to 45,000 underprivileged children aged newborn to 12 across Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Ajax and Pickering. The presents are delivered by teams of volunteers.
Recipients receive a gift box with a warm shirt (toddlers get a fleecelined tracksuit while newborn infants get a five-piece set that includes onesies), a warm hat, warm gloves or mittens, socks, a toy, a book, cookies and dental hygiene items (aged 4 and up) inside.
It’s the only present many of the kids will receive this holiday season, which is why the gift boxes aim to cover the basics and then some.
Margaret lived in foster care for a short while growing up because her parents struggled financially and faced great difficulty raising their two children. She met her husband, Ronald Richard Peter, at a bowling alley in Toronto. The two donated to the Santa Claus Fund every year since they married in 1961.
Crystal is continuing to donate on behalf of her parents and will pass on the tradition to her 2-year-old son when he grows up, she said.
“This fund really makes a difference, it puts a smile on a child’s face,” Crystal said. “My mom remembered it from when she was 7 or 8 years old. I know how important it is and my family will continue to donate.”
Ronald, who worked for the Toronto Star’s printing press for 30 years, loved volunteering with his wife to deliver the presents to the children’s homes.
“I remember when they could, they would drive around and drop off the boxes,” Crystal said. “I remember seeing the joy in my dad’s eyes when they would return.”
Ronald is unable to remember those times now because he is living with dementia. But Crystal said each year she brings him the envelop confirming their donation.
“He smiles and I think part of him knows,” she said. “I think he knows how important it is, in his own way.” If you have been touched by the Santa Claus Fund or have a story to tell, please email santaclausfund@thestar.ca.