The Salvation Army Toy Run has traditionally seen hundreds of supporters from the Moose Jaw Cycle Club and beyond donate Christmas gifts for children to the local charity.
But from all indications, they outdid themselves in 2022.
From overall turnout to the number of gifts donated and just the general level of support, the Toy Run was a huge success -- and that has the Salvation Army looking forward to helping a potentially record number of families this holiday season.
“This year, I would have to say it’s probably been the biggest in terms of the number of motorcycles that came out,” Lieut. Lester Ward said as hundreds of Toy Run participants visited in the Salvation Army citadel parking lot. “We know the need in Moose Jaw is great and the surrounding area is great, but having an opportunity to journey and be a part of this with the motorcycle group, it just does my heart good that we can share that love from others in the community. This will allow many families to have a Christmas that they probably wouldn’t have experienced otherwise.”
Ward pointed to the Salvation Army’s ongoing brown-bag breakfast program as an indicator of how great the need might be this year. While they were handing out 160 or so breakfasts a month in January, that number grew to close to 600 in August.
“If that’s any indication, then as we lead into the Christmas season, people who are in the need of a hamper, Christmas dinner, toys for their children, the need is going to be substantial,” Ward said.
And that’s where the Toy Run comes in.
Riders made their annual -- and spectacular -- trek up Main Street to open the event, passing through the ongoing Little Chicago Show and Shine in the process. All told, the procession took about 10 minutes to roll past as hundreds upon hundreds of riders made their way to the citadel, where they dropped off new and unwrapped toys or made monetary donations to the Salvation Army.
In the end, the pile of gifts said it all. While it was decently large the last two years, the number of donations in 2022 appeared to add up to the combined number from 2020 and 2021.
“We’ve been here going on three years, and the generosity of this community is incredible,” Ward said. “People care about their neighbour and care about their community and they just want to share what they’ve been blessed and given with those who might not have as much.”
All the donations will be rolled into what has become the Salvation Army’s annual Toy Shop, which allows those in need to pick out gifts for their youngsters much as they would in a regular store.
“So the monetary donations that have come in, the toys that have come in, they’re all going to go toward ensuring that this Christmas season there are some families who are going to enjoy Christmas where otherwise they might not have,” Ward said.
Now that the Toy Run is once again steaming along at full speed, the Salvation Army hopes to see it continue to succeed in its mission in the coming years.
“If it continues to expand and grow, this year compared to last year and before, maybe we’ll have to build a bigger parking lot so we can get all these bikes in,” Ward joked. “But it really does our heart good. We want to thank the Moose Jaw Cycle Association and even the community that doesn’t ride bikes, they showed up donating toys to our cause and we want the community to know we appreciate their donations and are so thankful for what they allow us to do, sharing love with others.”
