Greater Toronto

By Manshad Mohamed
Advocates For Etobicoke (A.F.E.Y.) hosted their 8th Annual Children Christmas Party. Over 300 kids, from the surrounding schools and churches in the northern Etobicoke area, accompanied by their parents were welcomed to the prestigious Woodbine Banquet Halls on Hwy 27 on December 17th to enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas. The chief organisers of this event were, prominent Toronto lawyer, Dhaman Kissoon and Police Inspector Ron Tavernor of 23 Division. They were ably supported by a large number of volunteers from local schools and nearby businesses. Global television covered the event for the first time. Members of their newscast were in attendance and assisted in the buffet lines.
The kids and parents were treated to a full lunch followed by dessert and an assortment of drinks. Adults had tea and coffee. Live music filled the air as a DJ pounded out popular music as well as that of Christmas. The children were entertained by a magician and a clown. Just about noon Santa Claus entered the hall with shrieks of joy and anticipation. Mr. Kissoon invited the children, by their ages, to come up on stage and receive their wrapped gift from Santa.
Each child had a lanyard with his/her name and photograph. At the end of the party, they were encouraged to trade in their identification for another gift bag containing a food hamper. The happiness that emanated from the faces of those children pointed out the true spirit of Christmas and the responsibility of adults to make this happen.
When asked why they continue to do this both Dhaman Kissoon and Ron Tavernor echoed the same sentiments "that there is a great need in the community and our group is just trying to make a small difference in the lives of these children. We just want to let the children know that people care about their welfare".