LITTLE ANSE: A mother grieving the loss of her son says helping others at this time of year helps her cope.
After planning and fundraising for months, on Nov. 17 volunteers dropped off tens of thousands of dollars in toys at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax in memory of Jason Maryatt, who succumbed to cancer in 2017.
His mother, Carol Hayne, told The Reporter this is the fifth year for the toy drive which is bigger than ever.
“They had a full bin, plus they had two of those big… racks solid full,” she recalled. “There were more toys this year than there was last year.”
Hayne confirmed that they collected approximately $11,000 in toys this year.
“It gets better every year,” she said. “We purchased stuff for about $10,000 so then we had extra stuff that was given to us.”
The fundraising started last winter with a raffle on a model fishing boat, ticket sales on two items, then a cold plate dinner, Hayne said.
“Kevin Skinner had donated a boat and we sold tickets on that, and we made over $3,000,” she recalled. “Then we had a cold plate drive; that was in October. I also had tickets sales on a board donated by Chris Boudreau and a blanket donated by Norine Paupin. All of that together, added up to a lot of money to do some shopping.”
In addition to donations from Isle Madame residents and businesses, Hayne said she received a toy donation from the wife of Richmond MLA Trevor Boudreau.
“It’s getting around, more people are hearing about it. It’s going farther now,” she noted. “I’m thankful to everybody; this community, outside the community.”
Hayne said they bought the toys at businesses in Port Hawkesbury and Antigonish
After a cancellation from Strait Area Transit, Hayne said Kenny Boudreau drove a truck and a trailer from Peter Covin Contracting Ltd. of West Arichat up to Halifax.
“Peter Covin and those guys they jumped right in, no problem, and they took us up,” she said. “Everything went great. We’ve got great people in this community.”
Although it involves months of work, Hayne said it makes her Christmas complete.
“I don’t mind the work of it; I enjoy it, it’s almost like a purpose, that’s what I’m working for. I love it. And just thinking about all the kids and them getting nice stuff for Christmas, that makes it all worthwhile,” she added. “It’s something that I know he would really enjoy because Jason loved to give, Jason was a giver. It’s doing something that he would’ve enjoyed doing.”
As for next year, Hayne added that another cold plate dinner is planned and she said another local artisan has offered to make a boat for her to raffle off tickets.