Not every hero wears a cape.
This is a lesson three young Shanty Bay brothers learned recently when they decided they wanted to find a way to help other kids at Christmas.
The Moreau brothers — Quinton, 7, Liam, 5, and Noah, 3 — along with their grandfather (Pepere) built and painted wooden Christmas trees to sell to friends and family in order to raise money that they could then use to purchase toys for the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services 2021 Toy Drive to support families in need throughout the region.
Mom Kim Moreau said it was Quinton who came up with the idea after watching this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony.
“At bedtime we were talking about heroes, who can be a hero and what kids can do,” she said, adding when her oldest told her he wanted to host a fundraiser, she thought it was a great idea.
“I think it’s really important for the kids to figure out how they can contribute to their community. They’re a little bit young to really understand the impact, but I think it’s a really great thing to teach them when they are young.”
Quinton, who is in Grade 2, said he knew right away he wanted to help other kids.
“Some kid’s mommies and daddies may not have the money to buy them toys at Christmas," he explained.
Kim ended up posting on a local Facebook “mom chat” about their initiative, and the response was nearly immediate.
“I think within an hour we had so many orders that I had to (end) it so the boys could fill all the orders,” she said, noting they ended up making 10 “big trees” and four “small” trees and raised $465 from the sale of the trees along with some additional donations.
“We tasked Pepere with the cutting out (of the wood) then we broke it down. One night we would stain a bunch of trees, then the next night we might paint a little bit," she explained of the process.
Quinton told BarrieToday he got to help cut out the trees in his grandfather’s workshop. Then, all three boys got to work staining, painting them green and adding the stars. They then sprinkled on some “snow”, added lights and affixed a star on the top.
The best part, added Liam, aside from “getting to have a sleepover at Pepere’s,” was getting to go to the store and pick out cool toys that they would later donate to the toy drive.
“We pretty much bought stuff people would like,” said Quinton. “We thought if we liked it other kids would like it.”
The boys filled up two shopping carts near to overflowing with a variety of items, including a music kit, Hot Wheels, super hero-themed items, Lego and books.
“It was hard for Liam, at the age of five, to go into the store and buy a whole bunch of toys that weren’t for him … but the second time we did great. They were really excited to buy for all these kids,” said Kim.
Next year the boys plan to recruit friends to help with their initiative in the hopes they can raise even more money and donate even more toys to the local toy drive.
“We said (we want to fill) three whole bins!” enthused Quinton.
