Santa Fund volunteering a family affair
Harrison Lowman, 24, and his dad have been delivering Star gift boxes for 15 years
Harrison Lowman started delivering Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund gift boxes to families in need when he was a 9-year-old Cub scout.
Often, a parent came to the door with a boy or girl at their side. Some of the kids were no older than Harrison, others were still in diapers.
“It’s such an interesting feeling when you’re a child handing over a present to another child,” Harrison recalled. Sometimes parents would be so moved that they would cry and hug him and the other volunteers, he said.
Fifteen years later, he and his dad Tim, a scout leader, still volunteer with the 153rd Old Mill scouting group. They used to pick up the Star boxes from a depot, sort them at a church and bring them to hundreds of families across south Etobicoke. More recently, they have run a depot for scouting groups while still deliv- ering boxes in Etobicoke.
Each parcel contains age-appropriate toys and books as well as some necessities such as warm clothes, a tooth brush and toothpaste.
For the younger scouts, especially, carrying stacks of boxes higher than they are is hard work, Harrison said. And it’s rewarding.
“You feel completely satisfied at the end of the day. There’s no better feeling than helping people.”
Contributing to the Star’s Santa Claus Fund, which is in its 109th year, is a Lowman family tradition that started with Harrison’s late grandfa- ther, Ronald, who was a Star reporter for 44 years.
He joined the paper after seeing action in the Second World War as a RAF flying officer. He relished his newspaper days, according to his grandson.
Harrison’s dad Tim recalls going to the Star’s Christmas Carol Concert, a fundraiser for the Santa Claus Fund, each year at St. Paul’s on Bloor St. This year’s concert is in the same church Dec. 5.
At one point, three generations of Lowmans delivered Star boxes to needy families.
“Being a not-so-secret Santa is one of the most fun things you can do, and one of the best uses of your time,” Tim said. “This is one of the activities that really makes a difference, and kids can see the difference because they’re the ones making it.” If you have been touched by the Santa Claus Fund or have a story to tell, please email santaclausfund@thestar.ca.