It was a celebration of the generosity, proving the compassion of Burlington.
Surrounded by 687 blue bags filled with essential items for those in need, a large group of volunteers helped celebrate the annual Gift of Giving Back’s closing ceremony today at Joseph Brant Hospital (JBH).
The event helped conclude the 18th annual (2023) Gift of Giving Back food drive.
An annual event, it’s the largest food drive in Canada of its kind, supporting nine member agencies in Halton Region, who in turn support thousands of Burlington citizens.
It was Burlington resident Jean Longfield who founded and now chairs the Gift of Giving Back – a non-profit organization that holds summer and late fall annual initiatives launched in partnership with youth athletic organizations to help kids feed kids in their community.
Celebrating 18 years of giving, the fall community food drive supports, educates and empowers countless young people (many of them involved in minor hockey) and others to give back to our community.
The food drive – held this year at M.M. Robinson High School – raised $501,861.57 in food and financial donations. That’s more than half a million dollars of relief for beneficiaries, which include the Burlington Food Bank, the Salvation Army, Food for Life, Halton Women’s Shelter, Compassion Society of Halton, Carpenter Hospice, the ROCK, Halton Learning Foundation and the Halton Catholic Children’s Fund.
The connection to the hospital is through Joseph Brant's Gift of Giving Back internal coordinator Kim Lindsay. Two years ago, during the pandemic, there was no organized hockey, so no food drives. Lindsay, who works at the hospital, quickly realized this and rallied her co-workers. For many, during the pandemic, they were heroes at the hospital in the midst of fighting COVID and all the difficulties associated with that.
Lindsay's colleagues jumped on board to support her efforts. Last year, they were able to fill 534 bags, containing much-needed items for people in the community. This year, they filled even more.
Lindsay was emotional as she thanked those gathered at the ceremony. She spends months at the hospital – hours outside of her regular job – coordinating the items, including food, personal supplies and diapers. For the third year in a row, she once again united almost every hospital department to participate in the growing benevolent gesture.
“There's nothing quite like being honoured to address a group of people who epitomize generosity, and sacrifice," she said. "Each and every one of you have made a huge difference in our community today. Every day you make a difference to care and nurture and build our community within healthcare. But today, you will have roles above your job roles that impacted your community, genuinely and authentically. Look at the sea of blue.
“There are many words I can use to describe it, but one word that comes to mind is truly inspirational. Thank you. I know those two words don't hold enough weight for you all to truly know the depth of my gratitude, but I'll continue to say them.”
Lindsay also thanked Longfield and Crick for being mentors and showing her and “the kids of our community and all of us here, what true heroes on earth act and look like.
"Thank you to my lab family, who is a force to be reckoned with, a family of the most generous, caring, and supportive people I've ever had the pleasure of working with,” she added.
Gift of Giving Back’s director of logistics and equipment John Crick said it’s amazing to see so much giving during such tough times..
“What's hard to believe with the numbers that we're seeing here, this is a very difficult time for people,” he said. “Not only people that eat this food, but also people that donate the food.”
He said the money went further in previous years, but the fact the volunteers have managed to increase the amount of food is “unheard of. “This is the biggest single food drive that the Gift of Giving has outside of our main food drive in November at the school.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t draw attention to my new girlfriend,” he joked. “I'm not sure if you all know how much work goes into this on Kim's part, but it's amazing. It's like a full-time job she has, and she does a fantastic job.”
JBH president and chief executive officer Eric Vandewall said the hospital’s Gift of Giving back is “a testament to the strength and compassion that defines our hospital. It reinforces the values that are core to who we are as healthcare professionals. We are people who care deeply about the well-being of others.
He also thanked Lindsay, and all the Gift of Giving Back leads. “Your dedication is really making a difference to the lives of so many, and it's really inspiring.”
Ward 1 councillor and ceremonial deputy mayor Kelvin Galbraith echoed his words, thanking Longfield and all the volunteers for their efforts.
“This is very impressive,” he said. “Congratulations to everyone involved. Thank you to everyone involved.”
Beneficiaries include: Burlington Food Bank, The Salvation Army, Food For Life, Carpenter Hospice, Halton Women’s Place, The Compassion Society, The Rock, The Halton Learning Foundation and the Halton Catholic Children’s Foundation.
