Breakfast for a toy

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What do you do with 4,500 eggs? If you’re Tigh-na-mara Resort and Spa you host a breakfast and ask people to donate a toy.

Last year the Parksville resort hosted around 1,300 people who, along with consuming 150 kg of bacon and 125 kg of sausages, donated 1,800 toys to the Society of Organized Services (SOS) Christmas is for Kids campaign.

“The hotel gets completely swamped, really jammed,” said manager Paul Drummond. “This is really the start of Christmas, all the resort staff really get involved and donate their time.”

Now they’re preparing for as many as 1,600 guests Wednesday morning for the fourth annual toy drive and Drummond hopes to top last year’s donations, which included over $2,500 cash, which he said is very useful so the SOS can buy toys to fill specific gaps.

This year they are focusing on presents for teens and tweens, which Drummond said are often overlooked by people who tend to donate toys for the youngest children.

The toys collected go to the SOS Toy Shop, where people in need can select presents for their children or grandchildren — helping the community have a great holiday, with dignity and respect.

Along with the deluxe buffet breakfast, they are adding a drive-thru for people who don’t have time for the whole sit-down breakfast and spirited social event.

For the donation of a new, unwrapped toy, the breakfast runs from 6:30-10 a.m. and the drive-thru opens at 7:30 where people will get a coffee and muffin. Event co-sponsor, The NEWS, will be accepting pennies for the Pennie for Presents campaign, which also benefits SOS.

SOS executive director Renate Sutherland previously said this is the toy shop’s biggest contributor, providing a better Christmas for so many local families. For more on SOS campaign, call 250-248-2093 or visit www.sosd69.com.