Home | annual tire take back event hits the 1 million dollar mark for the sunshine foundation of canada
More than 60,000 tires collected this year to fulfill the dreams of children living with severe disabilities or life-threatening illnesses
TORONTO, ON, September 28, 2016 – Ontarians have raised more than $1 million to support The Sunshine Foundation of Canada through the annual Tire Take Back event, now in its seventh year. The event, organized by Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association (OARA) and Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS), in association with Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) encourages Ontarians to drop off their used tires at participating collectors across the province. In total, 458,185 tires have been collected and an astonishing $1,060,306 has been raised over the course of this collection initiative.
“We are overwhelmed with the support we’ve received from OARA, OTS, and OFA and their dedication to reaching this incredible million dollar milestone,” says Nancy Sutherland, CEO for The Sunshine Foundation of Canada. “Tire Take Back is grassroots fundraising at its best with communities across the province coming together to make dreams come true for our Sunshine kids.”
This year, the 12-day tire recycling blitz between May 24th and June 4th, saw the collection of 64,623 tires to raise $117,998 in support of the Sunshine Foundation of Canada. Early’s Auto Parts in Alliston, Ontario came out on top, collecting 15,346 tires, resulting in $21,491 of the total funds raised for The Sunshine Foundation of Canada.
“We continue to be amazed at the success of this program,” said Steve Fletcher, Executive Director of OARA. “The efforts our members put in to collecting these tires, and the support our tire hauling partners provide, keep the environment clean, and help The Sunshine Foundation continue to do their good work.”
Each year, the Tire Take Back event, through the donation of all tire collection fees, helps children within Sunshine’s Ontario network live out once-in-a-lifetime experiences that may otherwise not have been possible, like meeting their heroes, or taking dream vacations.
For Shannon McCauley and her daughter Abby, their family’s trip to Disney World was nothing short of spectacular. “Travelling to Disney World was the most wonderful experience for Abby and our family and we are so grateful to the Sunshine Foundation for making this dream possible!! Abby was able to take a break from physio and medical appointments to explore the magical world of Disney. She experienced everything from a princess make-over to meeting her favorite characters. It was definitely a week to remember and one that she speaks of fondly. Thank-you from the bottom of our hearts!!”
The Sunshine Foundation of Canada was presented with a ceremonial cheque on September 28th, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. ET at Early’s Auto Parts in Alliston, Ontario. Photos from the collection events and cheque ceremony are available upon request.
About The Sunshine Foundation of Canada
Sunshine is a national Canadian charity impacting the lives of children living with severe physical disabilities or life-threatening illnesses by making their dreams come true. Sunshine’s Dream Programs give the children they serve the opportunity to experience freedom from their daily regimens and challenges by having their dreams transformed into reality, impacting them with a sense of independence, confidence, and empowerment that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Since its inception in 1987, Sunshine has fulfilled more than 8,000 dreams for children across Canada and coordinated over 60 Sunshine DreamLifts to Disney. For more information, visit www.sunshine.ca or follow The Sunshine Foundation on Twitter at @SunshineFound.
About OARA
The Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association represents 125 professional auto recyclers across Ontario who recover and recycle end-of-life vehicles for their parts reuse and materials recycling. For more information, visit www.oara.com.
About OTS
Established in 2009, Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) is an Industry Funding Organization (IFO) incorporated under Ontario’s Waste Diversion Act, to implement and operate the Used Tires Program.
At OTS, we are transforming the relationship Ontarians have with the lifecycle of their tires, through a comprehensive approach that takes into account our environment, our economy and our quality of life. Through the Used Tires program, 100 per cent of Ontario tires get efficiently and responsibly recycled into new products, leading to more livable communities and a growing green economy in this province.
For more information, please visit www.RethinkTires.ca and follow us on Twitter: @RethinkTires.
About OFA
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 36,000 farm families across the province. As a dynamic farmer-led organization based in Guelph, OFA works to represent and champion the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, research, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations and more. OFA is the leading advocate for Ontario’s farmers and is Ontario’s voice of the farmer. For more information, visit www.ofa.on.ca.
