Coming together in unique Earth Day event

Craig Bakay | Apr 27, 2017

While trying to decide what to do with a number of toys she hadn’t used in years, Girl Guide Meghann McKinstry got an inspiration — could they be donated to a thrift store? Or, what if they collected toys from other guides as well as the community, organized a sale and gave the proceeds to the Food Bank.

McKinstry ran the idea past her mother, Guider Joanne, who ran it by Guide Leader Kim Deline.

It turns out that sort of fundraising isn’t really within the purview of the Girl Guides but seeing that it was Earth Day, and the idea of recycling toys fit in and the Food Bank always needs funds and it was spring cookie season  . . .

“We call ourselves Friends of Guiding,” Joanne McKinstry said. “We organized, well Kim did most of it, she’s amazing, and collected donations and the Grace Centre graciously donated space.

“And here we are. The donations are still coming in and you might be amazed that some of the toys for (re)sale are brand new.

“One gentleman even brought in a a brand new radio-controlled car and said he just wanted to contribute.”

Before they knew it, they had the first Earth Day used toy sale, complete with coffee and hot dogs for sale by the Friends of the Food Bank and a booth for the Guides to sell their cookies.

(By the way, for the uninitiated, there is no universal Cookie Day. Local troops are free to set their own spring and fall dates to sell cookies. In the spring, chocolate and vanilla cookies are for sale and in the fall, it’s chocolate mint.)

“It was slow at first,” McKinstry said. “The cloudy weather was likely to blame but it’s really picked up.

“One lady, who runs a day care, came in and emptied the Lego table

“We gave her a deal.”

McKinstry said even though it was her daughter’s initial idea, it was really Deline that made the whole thing work.

“Kim was here well into the night doing food prep and every other little thing that came up,” McKinstry said.

“I thought this was a great idea to promote community service,” Deline said. “And to celebrate Earth Day  . . . and to sell cookies.”