Jill Van Os never gets complacent about the generosity of her co-workers at the Coquitlam RCMP detachment or people in the community who donate to the 911 We Care Toy Drive.
And this year, a grieving grandmother made sure of it.
Every year for the last 11, her team has collected hundreds of toys and cash for Tri-Cities tots, tweens and teens, and delivers them to Share Family and Community Services for distribution to vulnerable families.
It’s a labour of love for her team of 911 dispatchers and telecommunications operators.
But last Friday, Van Os was taken aback by an extra special donation that she said touched everyone’s heart.
Mid-morning, just as the team was organizing the more than 400 gifts for delivery, a woman walked in carrying a cardboard box.
The box was filled with toys and books as well as a poem and a photo of a baby, which the woman said was in memory of her one-year-old grandson, who died this year.
“She said her family was buying toys for other children in the community since they couldn’t buy toys for their own,” Van Os said.
This is the time of year for such generosity but Van Os said she was impressed the woman and her family were able to think of others during their time of grief.
“I was really touched that throughout their own trauma they are dealing with, they were able to do something for the community and channel their grief into something positive,” she said.
Now that the gifts have been delivered to Share, the team is planning to commemorate the donation by saving the photo and the poem along with other photos from past We Care toy drives.
“It’s a good reminder for those days when we are wondering why we do this because it is a hard work — it kind of reminds us of why we do this.”
The large donation helped put the detachment over the top and narrowly exceed last year’s totals. For 2019, more than 400 toys and gifts went to Share’s hamper and toy drive.
