Need for toys a sign of tough times
The need for Christmas toys for children is becoming the highest the Toys for Tots campaign has seen in more than 25 years. “The need out there is phenomenal,” Windsor Moose Lodge administrator Dan Batson said Thursday. “It’s definitely going to be one of the worst. Probably back in 2008, 2009, those two were pretty rough but I’m thinking this is going to be if not equal, worse. I don’t usually get low-income people calling.” The Moose Lodge, through its Toys for Tots program, usually gives out toys to about 600 children at Christmas and expects to receive applications for more than 800 children this year, Batson said. Parents on social assistance usually apply, but this year he said they’re getting more calls from parents who are working but have low incomes. He’s taking two to three calls a day asking about the toys, something he hasn’t seen with the program for the last 25 years. “They just can’t afford Christmas this year.” Batson, 63, said his generation often had one parent working and supporting a family. Today, many families have two incomes and still have trouble making ends meet, he said. “These families are struggling constantly, constantly.” Frazier Fathers, United Way/ Centraide Windsor-Essex County director of continuous improvement and advocacy, wasn’t surprised Toys for Tots is seeing increased demand this year.
The Windsor area had the highest rate of children growing up in low-income households in Canada in 2015 with one in four children under age 17 affected.
That Statistics Canada study hasn’t been updated, but Fathers suspects Windsor is still among the top spots in Canada for child poverty.
Although the local economy has improved, there’s a long waiting list for social housing, the Windsor area has a smaller portion of the population working and the United Way sees more and more people accessing programs such as food banks and after-school programs. The need at area food banks has remained steady at 20,000 to 22,000 people a year, he said. A recent report predicts food prices will rise 1.5 to 3.5 per cent in 2019 and cost the average Canadian family an extra $400 a year for groceries. Fathers said that is an additional concern.
The median income in Windsor dropped 6.4 per cent in the last 10 years. In 2005, the median annual income was $65,000 and by 2016 that had dropped to about $59,000, he said.
Donations aren’t coming in to the Moose Lodge as fast as they have in past years, Batson said. It usually takes a good snowfall to get Windsorites thinking about Christmas and donating. Another problem is the lodge needs toys donated before next week when parents with proof of their income get to choose a toy for each child. The biggest toy need is always for children ages nine to 12. The Moose Lodge often buys those toys.
Toys for Tots needs $15,000 to $18,000 donated and is usually a few thousand dollars short so it uses the money it raises through bingos and other fundraisers to buy toys, Batson said. The toy drive dates back to 1926. Up until 1935, lodge members went door to door to collect used toys which they would fix up and paint. Local Vistaprint employees donate hundreds of toys. Vistaprint workers have been the drive’s largest contributors for the last seven years and represent 65 to 70 per cent of the toy donations, Batson said. The Red Apple store on Tecumseh Road West is also a good supporter and is donating 10 per cent of its toy sales on Saturday to Toys for Tots. People can drop off toys at the Windsor Moose Lodge at 777 Tecumseh Road West between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. To donate money for a tax receipt or get more information, call 519-253-1824 or email lodge1499@mooseunits.org. The lodge will pick up toys if necessary.