Special Thanks for 10th Annual Toys for Tots
The 10th anniversary of Clarion Hotel’s Christmas Breakfast was another wonderful year of seeing the community respond with care for children in need at Christmas. We are happy to announce that together we raised $10,000 and 2,000 toys for Archway Food Banks Christmas Bureau.
There were many new faces at this year’s event experiencing Toys for Tots Breakfast for the first time. The mid morning to early afternoon event saw over 1,000 attendees enjoying the delicious buffet breakfast, local live entertainment, a photo with Santa, a festive craft for the kids, an enchanted visit from the snow sisters, a fun visit with Frosty, and a high five from Constable Cuffs. Everyone was eager to kick off the Christmas season by helping ensure every child can find a gift under the tree.
Santa photo album on Facebook: 
The success of this event would not have been possible without the investment from our sponsors. We would like to thank first and foremost, Clarion Hotel & Conference Centre for hosting a wonderful community event and the graciousness of the staff who warmly served our community. Special thanks to the chef Jonathan Stewart who put in extra time and care into the buffet, Catlin Dumond who ensured everything came together as planned and Daniel Laverick who has been involved since the very first breakfast!
Thank you to Envision Financial and Jags Furniture for their generous Platinum sponsorship of Toys for Tots Christmas Breakfast! Your continued enthusiasm for helping children at Christmas is evident each year. Thank you to your friendly staff for collecting gifts at your businesses and even offering volunteer opportunities. At the event, the Envision Financial volunteers helped with enthusiasm to make a difference. Your wholehearted support and promotion of the event was invaluable.
Thanks to Media
We are extremely thankful for all of the promotion and coverage that Star 98.3 with Lisa & Kenny leading up to the event. The Abbotsford News was also instrumental in encouraging our community to attend. Thank you also to Pattison Outdoor Signs & Sevenoaks Shopping Centre for sharing the event. We also want to make a huge shout out to all those who shared and promoted Toys for Tots on Social Media. Your support is amazing! Together we were able to share our excitement with the community.
Thanks to Sponsors
A huge thank you also needs to go out to our brilliant event sponsors. With sponsorship, we were able to run a quality event that created a welcoming atmosphere for all who joined in to give back to the community. This event wouldn’t be possible without you.
We are so pleased to be able to thank Varing Marketing Group for stepping up as our Senior Tree Sponsor this year. Not only does this sponsorship draw attention to the fact that the event supports seniors at Christmas, but it ensures seniors can have a magical Christmas too.
We are so grateful to our Gold Reindeer sponsors Elite Fire Protection Ltd, Fortis BC, Handlers Equipment, JMV Woodworks Ltd., Longboard Architectural Products, Pacific Quorum Properties, Ranj Takhar Real Estate Team and Saxon Mechanical Limited.
We are so appreciative of the many new and long time Silver Snowflake sponsors, including Assante Wealth Management, Clearspan Contracting, G & F Financial Group and KSW Lawyers.
Thanks also to our Santa’s Sleigh sponsors Mastermind Toys and Jacks Towing. This sponsorship allowed those who couldn’t attend the event could still participate through drop off boxes all over Abbotsford
One of the most exciting parts of the event was the entertainment lineup. We are so grateful for the talented entertainment found in our community! Thank you to the rising stars at Creative Edge; to Ryan McAllister for sharing your fine musical talent; MEI Chamber Singers for your enthusiastic deliveries of classic Christmas Carols; MEI Screaming Eagles for rocking the event with your amazing choreographed marching band; and to the Characters, thank you for inspiring many young monarchs in waiting and making Toys for Tots one of your last events. Santa, thank you for generously sharing your time away from the north pole. Clifford Prang, your ability to entertain at the same time as keeping the morning running smoothly amazes me. We are so thankful to trust you wholeheartedly to run the morning well.
A whole hearted thank you to Connie Hackett who captured, created and shared amazing social media content with our community so those who weren’t there hopefully wished they were 😊
The event had amazing product sponsorship! Thank you to Starbucks of Sumas & Delair for sending your coffee, hot chocolate, and amazing volunteers that made the drive-thru delicious.
Josie, thank you for sharing Langis Flipbooks & Photobooths. Your generosity towards the event moves our hearts, thank you for being there! Thank you Valley Weddings and Vaandrager Nurseries for providing the perfect back drop and poinsettias for our Santa photos. We’re grateful to Able Cresting for keeping our volunteers looking spiffy in their t-shirts. The buffet was delicious due to the fact that Natures Pickins, Neufeld Farms, Taves Family Farm, McDonalds Delair, Snowcrest Foods Ltd., Vanderpol Eggs and Lepps Farm Market donated ingredients for the most delicious buffet breakfast!
Thanks to Volunteers
Last but certainly not the least, we were blown away by the support and commitment of the volunteers from Paramedics of BC Emergency Health Services, Abbotsford Firefighters of Local 2864, Envision Financial, Archway Food Bank, Archway Community Services, Abbotsford Police and members of the community who pitched in to help! Your ability to greet guests with enthusiasm, direct traffic, run toys, and help with clean-up was so valuable to the success of the event!
A HUGE thank you to Shawna Rosvold, you are such an amazing support. Thank you for helping keep the morning running smoothly! We don’t know what we’d do without you!!
Once again, our needs were met in ways that were unexpected. From unexpected sponsor investments to social media posts from supporters at just the right time, all orchestrated to benefit those in need in our community.
One final thank you to Patricia Driessen and team for pouring your heart into this event. Your dedication to creating an amazing community event was evident the whole time.
When worries are met with unexpected hope, lives change. When families are given the opportunity to celebrate a Christmas through the love and support of our community, hope comes shining through. From all of us at the Archway Food Bank and Christmas Bureau, thank you for coming together to bring hope and share the joy with families, children and seniors in our community.