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January 25, 2024 • Volume 38, No. 18
For reservations call 613-590-1120
Next edition February 1
Saltwater Santas raise whopping $28K for charity
Nisso Ifrah, far right, is the owner of the newly opened Dogtopia daycare and spa in Orleans. He is shown here with two of his staff members and his dogs Winnie and Lizzi. See story on page 7.
By Fred Sherwin The Orléans Star Tony Sullivan and Bob Presland, aka the Saltwater Santas, have done it again. The pair, along with Tony’s wife Jocelyne, have managed to raise another $28,000 for local charities through Sullivan’s Sugar Creek Way Christmas display. Sullivan began collecting donations from motorists and passersby during the first weekend in December and was outside every night until Jan. 1. He was often joined by Presland and on the busier nights by a long list of helpers all of whom are in their 60s. The amount they raised is far in excess of the $16,000 they raised last year. “It’s unbelievable how it all turned out,” says Sullivan. “We collected $12,000 on the final weekend alone.”
As in past years, the Saltwater Santas handed out candy canes and small chocolates to anyone who made a donation. When all was said and done, they had gone through 70 bags of Costco chocolates that contain 300 pieces each. That’s a total of 21,000 chocolates. The vast majority of the donations were individual $5 bills. In fact, they collected over $9,000 in $5 bills alone, along with $10s and $20s and and even the odd $100 bill. They also took in a pile of loonies and toonies which Jocelyne’s brother volunteered to roll almost every day before taking them to the bank. But the best part about the Saltwater Santas’ fundraising effort is being able to distribute the money to the various charitable organizations afterwards. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2