Annette Kingsley says her work as a board member for the Children’s Breakfast Club is a personal commitment to her fond memories of coming to Canada as a child.
“I come from an immigrant family, and I know the struggle that my parents had coming from another country, not speaking the language. Both my sisters were born in Italy," she said. "I was the only one that had the privilege of being born here in Canada and I appreciate everything that it offered me.’’
Her voice softens as she reflects on those memories. She says she wants to give back to other immigrants who struggle to adjust to a difficult environment.
Kingsley is a member of the board of the Children’s Breakfast Club and joined volunteers Oct. 4 at the Food Terminal to pack boxes of food for distribution to clubs around the GTA.
Volunteers were busy with the Children’s Breakfast Club for Thanksgiving on Oct. 4 at the Ontario Food Terminal, packing boxes of food for families in need.
Rick Gosling, president and founder of the group, said he believes it is his responsibility to help those who struggle and that the Breakfast Club can make a difference.
For more than 30 years, the group has worked to ensure every family in the community has good nutrition and a hot breakfast.
“Each generation is showing that they care about the communities where they live, that they want to give back. They want to make a difference in their community, and that's what this is truly all about,’’ Gosling said. Too often, people get busy with life and forget that people around them need help, he said.
Gosling said the campaign for this year highlights that anyone can have an impact.
“Our focus this year is ‘You can make a difference,’” he said. For 2025, the group’s activities throughout the school year are focused on youth.
Gosling said this isn’t just an event about volunteering. It’s about the connections and friendships volunteers make within the community. Many volunteers return year after year as they can see the positive impact this event brings.
He said he organized the event with Steven Moffat of North American Produce.
"These are all friends of mine,” Gosling said, indicating the terminal bustling with volunteers.
“Hank's a good friend of mine," he said, pointing out to helper Hank Idsinga.
"He sees the benefits of our program. All the people that you see here are here because they see what we do and the impact that our program has on the community and city.”
Moffat said he simply enjoyed seeing the joy on everyone’s faces and the opportunity to give back by doing an act of service.
“You can see the smiles on everybody's faces, and it's such a gratifying event to be able to give back to the community,” he said. “It helps people in the community that maybe otherwise wouldn't have access to this quality and this type of product.”
Dwight Drummond, with CBC Toronto, says the true meaning of Thanksgiving is to help those who have less. He emphasized that volunteers ensured all families have a Thanksgiving dinner through acts of kindness.
“Thanksgiving is a time where we give thanks for all we have," he said. "It just gives you a good feeling to know that a family’s going to open up this hamper, and they're going to have a wonderful Thanksgiving meal because of the people here today."
Bikram Chawla, the chief of Toronto Paramedic Services, said he wanted to volunteer alongside his team to help those who are underprivileged. But he added it’s also, for his team, a chance to develop a stronger bond.
“To join my team and to join our bunch of services colleagues, the community, youth, to do what we can to help those that are less privileged in our community, to help them have a great Thanksgiving, to participate in some teamwork, community spirit, and just have some fun, and have some bonding as well’’ is a great thing, he said.
Idsinga, a retired Toronto Police officer and part-time police instructor at Humber Polytechnic, joined his students at the Food Terminal. He shares their motivation.
Idsinga said being involved in this volunteer work is rewarding for the students and helps give them a sense of responsibility as they make an impact and prepare for their future.
“I love getting the kids in the class involved in this," the former homicide detective said. "It’s really a big motivator for me as well. They’re just beginning their professional lives, and they can realize all it takes is a couple of hours on a Saturday morning to come out and really make a big impact,’’ he said.
Mark Kingsley, Annette's husband and a volunteer, said these acts of kindness can put a smile on someone’s face.
“When I'm walking along the street and I see someone basically sitting on the sidewalk and hoping for a handout, I always, always give them something,’’ Kingsley said. His voice softened with empathy as he explained.
“If I can't give them something because I don't have any money on me. Who carries money these days? I will go into a Timmy's to buy a coffee, bring it out to them. You know, give them something to brighten their day a little bit,” he said.
Lauren Dineen-Duarte, another board member, said she appreciates this opportunity to be part of ensuring all families have food, especially on Thanksgiving.
“Being part of packing all this food for people in need and making sure families have food for the holidays coming up is really a great thing to do,’’ she said.
“Food insecurity is more prevalent than ever, so making sure that, if you're in a position to give, being able to do that is a wonderful thing to do,” Dineen-Duarte said. “We want everybody to be fed and happy and healthy, and so now more than ever, doing something like this ahead of the holidays is really important.”
