Parking tickets were turned into holiday cheer this morning as the City of Orillia presented more than $4,100 in children’s toys and toy store gift certificates from the 2024 Toys for Tickets campaign to the local chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orillia and District, Couchiching Jubilee House and the Salvation Army.
“Thank you to everyone who chose to turn their parking tickets into a new children’s toy. Your donation makes the holiday season brighter for local families in need,” said Mayor Don McIsaac. “The Toys for Tickets campaign has become a tradition in Orillia and has brought so much joy to Orillia children over the years.”
Toys for Tickets invited every person who received a parking ticket (with the exception of accessible parking violations) in the City of Orillia between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1, 2024, to pay the fine amount by donating a new children’s toy of equal or greater value.
“Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orillia is so grateful to be included in this initiative once again. Our agency is community funded and community focused and we are continuously blown away by the generosity and support our community provides us with. Thank you to the City of Orillia and The Toys for Tickets program for helping us put more smiles on more children’s faces this holiday season,” said Haleigh Payne, Fundraising and Community Development Coordinator of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orillia & District.
Over the past 17 years, the City of Orillia Toys for Tickets campaign has generated over $50,000 worth of new toys in lieu of payment for parking tickets.