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Volume 51 No. 19
BEACHMETRO.COM
December 13, 2022
SCARBORO SUBARU • 2590 EGLINTON AVE E. SCARBOROUGH ON M1K 2R5 • 416-265-4411
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Hair of the Dog Run returns to the Beach
Preparing for Christmas Eve
By Amarachi Amadike, Journalism Initiative Reporter
PHOTO: ALAN SHACKLETON
Santa Claus checks his map to make sure he is in the right place during a visit to the Pancake Breakfast with Hamper event at Community Centre 55 on Saturday morning. Santa will be double checking his map on Christmas Eve to make sure he comes back for a return visit to Toronto on Dec. 24.
Final push on for Share A Christmas donations By Alan Shackleton
COMMUNITY CENTRE 55’s Share A Christmas Program enters its final stages for 2022 and is issuing a call out to local residents for support as it works to help close to 1,000 local families in need this holiday season. “The response has been incredible so far this year from the community,” Community Centre 55’s Executive Director Reza Khoshdel told Beach Metro Community News on the weekend. “The demand has also really increased this year and our numbers are very high (of people needing help).” Since the COVID-19 pandemic,
the Share A Christmas Program has moved from delivering hampers full of food and other holiday treats directly to families, and instead provides them with grocery store gift cards in advance of Christmas Day. Khoshdel said the Community Centre will be purchasing approximately $150,000 worth of those gift card for distribution through the Share A Christmas Program. “That’s for food and it really helps people and they like them since they can tailor them to their needs,” he said. Community Centre 55 is also collecting donations of new and unwrapped toys as part of Share A Christmas. Donations of toys can
be dropped off at Community Centre 55, 97 Main St., during business hours up until Dec. 19. Khoshdel said the two things most needed from residents over the coming days is continued monetary donations (which help with the grocery store cards and also for gifts for older children and teens who are too old for many of the toys that get donated), and volunteer support. “We can use volunteer help on Dec. 19 to sort toys and on Dec. 20 to help deliver,” he said. Those wishing to volunteer can do so on either the evening of Monday, Dec. 19, or during the day on Tuesday, Dec. 20. On Dec. 19, volunteers are need-
ed from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to help pack and sort toys. Those wanting to help are asked to show up, but children under the age of 15 should not come to this event. Also, volunteers of all ages will be needed on Dec. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help deliver wrapped toys. There are also specific Adopt A Family and Adopt A Senior aspects to the Share A Christmas Program in which businesses or individuals can help cover all of the holiday needs of the family or senior they “adopt”. For more information on volunteering for or making a donation to Share A Christmas, please contact Community Centre 55 at www.centre55.com or call 416-691-1113.
Local
THE HAIR of the Dog Run will return to the Beach on Sunday, Jan. 1, after two consecutive years of cancellation due to COVID-19 safety concerns. “We are very happy to once again bring this New Year’s Day tradition back to the Beach community after a two year hiatus due to COVID,” said Eleanor McIntyre, Commodore at the Balmy Beach Canoe Club. “This popular event brings runners and walkers from Toronto’s East End out to start the New Year off on a healthy note.” The annual event in which area residents can take part in a threekilometre walk (11:30 a.m. start time) or 11 km run (noon start time) will begin on the Boardwalk on the south side of the Balmy Beach Club at 360 Lake Front. This year’s run marks the 41st time the run has taken place since it began in 1980. Many of the participants share a special connection to the event as they participated in it as children and are now, as adults, bringing their own families to share in the experience. “The atmosphere at this event is one of celebration, and we expect this year will be especially festive with the community anxious to get back to normal, including celebrating the New Year with friends and family,” said McIntyre. She told Beach Metro Community News that the 2021 and 2022 Continued on Page 2
BEACH METRO COMMUNITY NEWS 50TH ANNIVERSARY 1972•2022