One last drive for the finish line
Longtime donors come through to give children a happy Christmas
The Proudfoot Corner of the Star’s Santa Claus Fund simply wouldn’t reach its goal every year if it weren’t for people like Sheldon Ehrenworth and Rick Matsumoto.
And you can bring in folks like Ray and Elizabeth Zucchiatti as well.
These are regular donors, but there’s nothing regular about them.
Ehrenworth dropped off a lovely cheque to the newsroom Thursday, part of a “one last time” drive to extend the wonderful tradition of giving started by his uncle, Mort Greenberg, back in the 1950s.
Greenberg, as many followers of the Proudfoot Corner know, faithfully raised funds for the Proudfoot Corner and followed it up with a visit to the newsroom each Christmas. There, he’d wear his Santa hat, drop in on the sports desk, and help us push toward the goal with his humour and generosity
reenberg passed away in April so Ehrenworth, along with his son, Daniel, and longtime Greenberg friend Elizabeth Shelton, thought it would be a good idea to raise $20,000 in Greenberg’s memory. This would push Greenberg’s lifetime total to the $800,000 mark, a total which was divided up among five Toronto-based Christmas charities.
Matsumoto similarly dropped in on the newsroom, his old haunt. The legendary reporter, who covered the Argos and Leafs for decades for the Star, came with a $600 cheque on behalf of the Toronto Over 50s hockey league.
Every year, it’s this kind of generosity that gets the Santa Fund to its goal: the delivery of 45,000 gift boxes to Toronto children whose families can’t make Christmas as bright as it is for others.
“The guys realize we’re fortunate that we’re in a league where we can enjoy the sport we’ve loved since we were five years old, and there’s kids out there that age who don’t have that privilege, not only to not buy a pair of skates, but not enough food on the table at Christmas,” said Matsumoto, 76.
He has been playing with the Over 50s for more than 25 years.
The Proudfoot Corner also got a note from Lori Zucchiatti O’Neill, daughter of long-time Sportsman Corner donors Ray and Elizabeth Zucchiatti. The couple still want to donate, even though Ray, 878, suffers from an eye condition and is in hospital after a recently broken hip incident. As they say, that’s the spirit. And in saying that, the Star’s Santa Fund can’t do what it does without you, without people who want to give back.
The Star pays for all the administrative costs of delivering those boxes, so all the funds go to the kids. And those boxes really do help: they’re filled with clothing, toys, and hygiene products, stuff that is both fun and useful, especially on a cold winter’s morning. The Proudfoot Corner is happy to see the Santa Fund inching closer to its goal. We’re in our 113th year, and we run up and until Christmas Eve, and look forward to hearing from all our donors, their stories and their memories. Around the Corner: We start with Ronald Deline, of Markham, a retired Star plate maker from the good old days, who sends $100 … Patricia Huff
man of Etobicoke has $100 “in memory of Kay and John “Peanuts” O’Flaherty ... From Rockwood, Ont., comes Patricia Wilkinson with $100, “in honour of Shane Taylor.” ... Ernest Dubkowski of Aurora sends $100 “in memory of Mom and Dad, Pearl and John, and the best of brothers, Jack.” ... Susan Ware of Lindsay has $100, with this note: “As a former Star tour guide in the 1970s and acquaintance of “Chester” ( Jim Proudfoot), this donation is in memory of both my parents George and Eleanor Seto and my Aunt Glady (Mrs. N.A. Leslie) who was an excel- lent golfer.” ... Kenneth Chevis of North York sends $300 ... Karen Lindsay-Bennett of Oakville has $100 ... And another $100 from Pickering’s Gordon Willoughby, “in memory of Krista.” ... Here’s Lucille Hunter of Scarborough with $50, “in memory of Bill Bell of the Toronto Rifles.” .. An anonymous donation, from Toronto, for $100 ... And here’s Stephen Gerry of North York with $100, “in memory of Jim Hickey, who was a close friend of Mike Duggan ... And we’d like to just mention former Blue Jays president Paul Beeston and his lovely wife, Kaye, for their annual donation. They do so in honour of Dave Perkins, the former Star columnist who took over the Proudfoot Corner for years after Proudfoot passed away in 2001... Glenn Davis of Toronto with $100, “in memory of my deceased brothers, Alan and Brian, and my father and mother Fred and Anne” ... John Dickson of Newmarket has $50, “in honour of my late father, John and my late uncle Norm, who were both horse racing fans.” ... Golfing legend and Etobicoke native Worden Teasdale, with $300,. “in loving memory of my daughter, race car driver Kathryn Teasdale.” ... Milton’s John Lightfoot has $100, “in loving memory of our loved ones, daughter Tracey, and granddaughter Melissa.” ... Oakville’s Minna Stirrup sends $300, “in memory of my late husband Ralph Stirrup, who was a long-time admirer and supporter of this fund.” ... Scarborough’s Ingrid and Gord Harrison have $250, “in memory of my favourite sportswriter, Jim Proudfoot, and on behalf of athletes and grandkids Emilie, Josh, Eve, and Erin as our legacy in paying back to a most important charity.” ... Donald Hann of Scarborough sends $50 with this note: “Recent restricted mobility has prevented me from attending, again, your annual concert at St. Paul’s, after having attended the first 38 (with the exception of two). But it doesn’t prevent me from making a donation, enclosed. P.S. I was a boy chorister in St. Paul’s choir 80 years ago.” ... Mary Henderson of Toronto sends $100, with this note: “After all, aren’t we all kids at heart? Your stories of Mort Greenberg, Milt Dunnell, Jim Proudfoot and Dave Per- kins are read with interest. Mort and his cameras were downtown right at the games in the 1960s. I just made the connection. Bravo.” ... North York’s Cara Worthington sends $200, with this note: “Well Mark, you have already made your contribution to Chester and Mort’s memory with your column. Carrying on the great tradition after Dave Perkins. Congratulations. My daughter Kay still remembers Jim Proudfoot’s great kindness when the she competed for Canada. Always finding the positive and encouraging women’s events. Hence my annual donation for her and my friend Edna (now deceased) but a supporter of the Fund.” ... Here’s Bob Sturrock of Toronto with $200 and this note: “Thank you again for carrying on this fine tradition. I have been supporting the Corner for several years, as a way to honour the memories of my former teammates on our East Enders Football Club. Sadly, we lost another this fall — Denny Jarvis. Denny was a very fine athlete and an even better person.” ... An anonymous donation from Toronto came in at $800 ... Marie Bray of Etobicoke has $50, “in memory of Johnnie Frances and Philomena.” ... Oakville’s Lary Kreutzwiser sends $100 ... Oakville’s Richard Redshaw sends $100 (we hope we got this name right) ... Dr. J. Glen Brown, of Brampton, sends $100 ... Jack Wilson of Oshawa has $200, “in memory of wife Jackie Wilson and sister and brothers Dorothy Brown, Don and Doug Wilson.” ... Patricia Potter, of Richmond Hill, sends $200 ... York’s Susan Shiomi sends $50 … Marilyn and Gordon Dowsley of Oshawa have $200, “on behalf of my grandchildren Elizabeth, James, Charlotte, Beatrice and Wolf. I was a friend of the Proudfoot family and recipients of Jim’s many kindnesses.” ... Oakville’s Glen Powell sends $500 with this note: “This donation represents the generous support of the Ol’ Farts from the CBC National Radio Newsroom. As the Ol’ Farts have done for several years, our lunch meeting prior to Christmas is a time to pass the Santa hat around the table and watch the donations drop in! In addition to the contributions from those attending the lunch this year I received donations to fill the Santa hat from former colleagues, now in retirement, residing in points across Ontario and coast to coast, Halifax to Victoria. To all the elves busy with the wrapping and delivery of the gift box 4 for the kids we send along a big thank you and a very Merry Christmas.” ... Toronto’s Barry Landon with $100 and a note: “In 2017 Cole Hill, ON/Wollaston Twp. lost its last two remaining veterans of WWII. I grew up in Cole Hill and knew them both. Ivan Gunter was a decorated veteran of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment. Harry Johnson joined the Royal Canadian Navy and saw active service. My donation is in honour of their service.” ... Jay Catania of Newmarket with $50, “for all of the great work you do on behalf of the children. I am a first-time contributor.” ... Toronto’s Alan Christie with $100 “in memory of Mike Meredith.” ... Janet Garden of Toronto sends $200, “in memory of Gileen McEwan Giffin.” ... Alan Cawker of Oshawa brings in $230 … Brampton’s Wallace Robbins sends $50, “in memory of Jo Robbins.” ... And the one and only Robin Grant sends in $100, “in memory of Mom, Dad, and the lumberjack.” ... Aurora’s Frank MacGrath, with $100, “in memory of Martin Foy, Jim Morris and Mike Lavelle.”
“We can enjoy the sport we’ve loved since we were five years old, and there’s kids out there that age who don’t have that privilege.” RICK MATSUMOTO FORMER STAR SPORTSWRITER