St. John’s, NL - The province’s first Ronald McDonald House will be the beneficiary of The Idea Factory’s Annual Toy Factory fundraising campaign. Chief Idea Officer Kevin Casey made the announcement today while also unveiling plans for an online auction.
After raising over $90,000 in toy and monetary donations over the past two years for the Single Parents Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, Casey said the company decided to turn its focus towards the building of the much-needed Ronald McDonald House in St. John’s. “It is the first being built in the province,” said Casey, “and it will provide a much needed home-away-from-home: a warm and compassionate place where sick children and their families can stay together during what is an extremely stressful and difficult time.”
Ronald McDonald House is a perfect match for The Toy Factory, said Casey. “While The Toy Factory is about fostering the spirit of imagination and making magic for children in need at Christmas, Ronald McDonald Houses work magic for sick children and their families 365 days a year.”
Casey said The Idea Factory team is excited about taking fundraising efforts online for the first time. “As in previous years, we will be collecting toys and monetary donations. Our chief monetary donation generator has been a live auction held during our Christmas party. This year, instead of a live auction we have created an online auction that boasts 12 of the most remarkable auction items you can't buy off-the-shelf anywhere on the planet. "
A trip to see U2, a Great Big Sea concert package, salmon fishing on the upper Humber and wine and food tastings provided by the province’s finest restaurants are a small sample of the items prominently featured at www.thetoyfactory.ca. “Instead of reaching 150 people in a room, we are opening the auction up to the world. With the remarkable items we have, we are anticipating a great deal of interest,” said Casey.
The auction will take place from December 1st to the 19th, and The Idea Factory will be pulling out all the stops to drive people to this auction. On December 20th, 100% of the cash proceeds will go to help build Ronald McDonald House. The toys will be delivered to the Ronald McDonald House campaign office, with any excess going to the VOCM Cares Happy Tree.
Cathy Bennett, Vice-Chair of Ronald McDonald House said the entire committee is thrilled that The Idea Factory has chosen to focus its annual Toy Factory fundraising efforts on the building of Ronald McDonald House. “Witnessing first hand the effort The Idea Factory team put into raising money over the past two years for single parents in this province, I know they will not stop until every possible dollar is raised for those children and their families who will need this house the most,” said Bennett.
Anyone interested in making a donation or participating in the online auction should visit www.thetoyfactory.ca or call The Idea Factory at 709-726-1449 to arrange to have your donation picked up. O’Neill Nissan has donated a Nissan Cube and a Nissan Titan to help pick up donations throughout the greater St. John’s area. The Toy Factory campaign launched a T-shirt design contest last month to involve students in the creative and charitable spirit of The Toy Factory campaign, and to generate awareness, has entered a float in this year’s annual St. John’s Christmas Parade.
