Mighty Mouse launches season of giving
The Proudfoot Corner of the Star Santa Claus Fund kicks off for another season this weekend, looking to once again bring a bit of Christmas joy to underprivileged children in the GTA thanks to the generosity of readers.
It’s a tradition entering its 115th year. The Santa Fund and its sports arm, the Corner — which grew over the decades under the watchful eye of former Star sports editors and writers Milt Dunnell, Jim Proudfoot and Dave Perkins — rely not only on donations, but also the efforts of many volunteers for deliveries to thousands of kids over the holiday season.
Elaine Tanner and John Watt know it well. The Canadian swimming legend and her husband have been donors for more than15 years. Tanner has even sold off some of the memorabilia from her storied career and donated the proceeds.
She captured four gold medals at the 1966 Commonwealth Games and went on to win the Lou Marsh Award, handed out by the Star to Canada’s athlete of the year — professional or amateur. Two years later, she became the first Canadian woman ever to win an Olympic swim medal, bringing home three from Mexico City.
“I think that in this day and age it’s more important than ever to never forget what kindness and love mean, and how they can still make a difference in someone’s life,” says Tanner, nicknamed Mighty Mouse.
Watt used to deliver copies of the Star with a buddy in the 1950s and ’60s, and dedicates donations these days to old pal John (Jocko) Thompson, a former teammate with the Balmy Beach Blues hockey club.
Tanner and Watt — whose voice was a little hoarse this week — fondly remembered reading Dunnell, Proudfoot and entries in the Corner. It was the Sportsman’s Corner back in those days, before Perkins renamed it in honour of Proudfoot after his death in 2001.
Talk of Tanner’s Lou Marsh triumph brought back a memory that she treasures to this day.
“I was out in Victoria and it was kind of funny,” the B.C.-born Tanner said about how she learned she’d won the award, first handed out in1936 and named after the former Star sports editor. “I was in high school, in Grade 8, and I was in a chemistry class. I still remember this … a
teacher came into our classroom and said: ‘Elaine, you are wanted at the principal’s office,’ ” Tanner said. “So I went down there and they said: ‘You have a long-distance call.’ It was Milt Dunnell, and he said: ‘We’d like to let you know you are the winner of this year’s Lou Marsh Award.’ I said, ‘Great … but what is it?’ I had no idea.
“I was the youngest (15), I think, to ever win the award and afterwards I thought to myself: ‘Gee whiz, I’m being mentioned with Rocket Richard and Jean Béliveau.’ I think I beat out Bobby Hull that year, but I think he forgave me, too.”
Every year, readers such as Tanner and Watt give generously to the Santa Fund — this year’s goal is to raise $1.2 million by Christmas Eve — often sending along notes with stories about the past, dedicating donations to lost loved ones and hoping the future is bright for the children, 12 and under, who receive the gift boxes.
About 45,000 boxes will be delivered in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Ajax and Pickering. Each box contains a shirt, hat, mitts, socks, a book, a small toy, cookies, a toothbrush and toothpaste.
For Tanner, the giving continues through a self-published, not-for-profit children’s book titled “Monkey Guy and the Cosmic Fairy,” with copies donated to children’s hospitals and front-line workers in Ontario and B.C. during the pandemic. The themes of the book, kindness and friendship, are reinforced on her personal website, questbeyondgold.ca.
For Tanner and Watt, it’s kindness that matters most.
And with that, the Proudfoot Corner is open for another season of giving.
To donate online Use our secure form at: thestar.com/ santaclausfund
By credit card
Visa, MasterCard or AMEX Call 416-869-4847
By cheque Make payable and mail to: Proudfoot Corner/ Santa Claus Fund Toronto Star One Yonge St. Toronto, ON M5E 1E6 The Star does not allow anyone to solicit on its behalf. Tax receipts will be issued.