By Mike Zettel
Reporter Niagara This Week Thorold
For close to a decade, Toolbox Project Niagara has been committed to collecting much needed hygiene products and clothing for people living on the streets across Niagara.
But since the beginning, Thorold has been the base of operations — and its biggest source of support.
Founder James Symons said right off the bat organizations in the city offered to help Toolbox collect donations for its care packages, of which more than 6,000 have been delivered to men and women in need.
“When we started Toolbox eight years ago, we didn’t know who was going to take our bins and how we were going to get donations,” he said. “It was Thorold Fire (and Emergency Services) that took the lead. They called and said they’d take a bin.
“And now for our campaign every year, every Thorold municipal building has a bin.”
That support continued this spring when Symons attended Thorold’s Earth Day cleanup and learned his organization, along with Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold, had been selected to be a community partner for the city’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Running June 29 to July 1, the celebrations recognize a half-century since Thorold has been incorporated as a city.
The events take place in Battle of Beaverdams Park and include the Niagara Jazz Festival’s Day in the Park presented by TD Ready Commitment on Sunday, June 29, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Rock ‘N Blues on the Battlefield on Monday, June 30, from 3-10 p.m. and the 50th anniversary event and Canada Day celebration on Tuesday at 1 p.m.
The festivities conclude with fireworks at 10 p.m. on July 1.
Symons said the exposure will allow Toolbox to get a head start on this year’s collection, which typically takes place in the weeks leading up to Christmas. He said while it has always been able to exceed the previous year’s collection, it’s a struggle to keep up with demand.
That’s unlikely to change this year, he said.
“It’s good to get a head start on stuff,” he said. “With the rise in encampments, we’re probably going to need a lot more.”
Fortunately, Toolbox will have another layer of support — actually a formalizing of existing support. The organization will soon be under the umbrella of Start Me Up Niagara, which offers services and programs to individuals who face significant life challenges.
Symons said Start Me Up has been with them from the beginning, setting up a donation bin during the Christmas campaign and helping them with their financial statements.
By formalizing the relationship, Toolbox will still be independently run, but will also have official charitable status under Start Me Up’s umbrella.
“We’ll be a program under them,” he said, explaining tasks such as complying with tax regulations to be an officially recognized charity would be onerous to do on his own.
“It’s very expensive being a non-profit,” he said.
Start Me Up marketing specialist Samantha Dekker said an announcement about the partnership is currently being prepared.
“For now, I can share that we are very excited to have James officially join us,” she said.
Mike Zettel is a reporter for Niagara This Week.