Toys Days: Making it a Merry Christmas for everyone, one donation at a time

Steinbach’s Community Christmas needs a lot more toys this year than in the past. 

On Wednesday, November 30th, there were 1,942 children registered for gifts through the Community Christmas Campaign. This is 500 more than last year, and registration forms were still coming in when this number was released. 

We all go through seasons in life when extra help is needed, and that is why Audrey Harder stopped in at Toys Days on Wednesday to donate toys and help fill the bin. 

“When my kids were younger, we benefited from Toys Days,” Harder shares. “My daughter always called them (delivery volunteers) elves. They would come and they would bring gifts.” 

She says the Christmas hampers and gifts helped her family have a brighter Christmas.

Audrey Harder knows what it feels like to receive a Christmas hamper and toys for her children, and that is why she donates toys each year.

“And I just want to make sure I can give back,” Harder says. "Because I was there, and I needed it and (my children) needed it. It was an amazing experience to have the little elves come and bring the food and bring the gifts for them.” 

Toys Days wraps up at 8pm on Thursday, December 1st at Canadian Tire in Steinbach. 

Bring your donation of a new, unwrapped toy, and help make this a brighter Christmas for more than 1,240 families in Steinbach. 

@steinbach_online It's TOYS DAYS! Stop by Canadian Tire today and tomorrow from 8am to 8pm and donate a toy! Bring a smile to a child on Christmas 😀 #canadiantire #steinbach #donate ♬ Strawberry - Prod. By Rose

Roger Blatz has volunteered with Steinbach Community Christmas for many years, and he says there is a good reason he continues to be involved. 

“There are people that need help,” he says. “There are stories that have come out, from kids to adults to families, that pull at my heartstrings every year. And I as soon as I start talking about those stories, I'm like, ‘Oh yeah, these are all the good things.’ The chaos of this, it's kind of fun. But the true feeling of you're actually helping someone, it's awesome. So, that's why we do it.”

This is what the donation bin looked like at the end of Day 1 of Toys Days at Canadian Tire in Steinbach.

Joanne Dyck is the toy coordinator, and she says they need a lot of help this year. 

“It's amazing when we get that huge load of toys,” she says. 

Dyck notes that donations from Toys Days really make a difference in making sure that each child gets a gift this Christmas. 

“It really helps fill those hampers,” she says. “We need 1,200 more toys.” 

Today is the last day for Toys Days at Canadian Tire in Steinbach.

-With files from Michelle Sawatzky, Carly Koop.