STROBEL: Sun Christmas Fund for Variety Village tops $2M
‘I’ll aways be grateful’ – Variety Villager
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Take a bow, dear generous readers – the Sun Christmas Fund for Variety Village has soared over $2 million all-time. And climbing.
Santa’s bookkeeper elves took a break from processing toy returns and exchanges and texted me the exact tally so far: $2,029,067.90, with three days left in the 2024 campaign.
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Right away, I called Megan Sherwin. She was my first Sun Fund chairkid, a million bucks or so ago.
“What a number!” she said. “Fantastic! We’re all so appreciative … and I can’t believe how time has flown by.”
Yes, indeed.
Rob Ford was the new mayor and he and the city council rock band came out to a Scarborough bar for a Variety Village fundraiser. I was emcee. Nobody in the noisy bar listened to a word I said – until I introduced a slip of a girl with cerebral palsy, one of Variety’s kids, maybe 11 years old.
“My name is Megan,” she began. “I had a stroke before I was born.”
And the whole bar went quiet.
When she finished her story, I told her I was thinking about appointing a “chairkid” for the Christmas Fund. We’ve been friends ever since.
Megan, now 24, is a Variety Village classic. Her family connection dates back 75 years, to even before the Village morphed into the iconic sports centre of today.
Megan’s grandfather, Don McCoy, who had a wooden leg, was a Village student in the 1950s when it was a trades school for disabled boys.
Her mom, Susan McCoy, who has multiple sclerosis, and two siblings have been Village regulars.
Brother Jamie is a manager.
That prenatal stroke, and hemiplegic cerebral palsy, rendered Megan’s left side weak.
But in the Variety’s sprawling Sunshine Pool, her two sides got along just fine. She starred on the legendary Flames, an integrated swim team, then graduated to the University of Waterloo Warriors, competing in Europe and the States, medalling at the Para Swimming World Series in Germany in 2022.
Her final race, at the 2023 Ontario university championship, was a personal best.
“Nice way to cap off a 15-year swim career,” she says.
Right after graduating Waterloo in sports and rec management, Megan was hired by the Coaches Association of Ontario, a training resource for instructors at all levels of sport.
So, her success story continues. We will all work for her someday. (Later, we will all work for my current chairkid, the Unsinkable Madi Ambos, 11.)
Variety Village has been with Megan every step, every dive, every flutter kick along the way.
“So many of my firsts were there,” she tells me. “First swim meet, first job on the pool deck at age 15, then summer camps and swim instructor.
“It gave me so much confidence, perseverance, independence. I wouldn’t be on the career path I’m on now without the Flames and Variety Village.
“It really was my second home. It shaped me so much. I was in the pool so often my perfume was chlorine.
“And it was a blast. So many great memories.
“A huge thank you to all those donors over all those years. You’ve helped so many kids realize their potential, given them so many opportunities and resources to try things.
“Like you did for me. It was my heart and soul growing up.
“Variety Village will always be part of me.”
“I’ll always be grateful.”
There you have it, from the original chairkid. And from thousands of her young friends.
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ON TO $3 MILLION
Many people helped carry the Sun Christmas Fund to $2 million, starting with Sun founder Doug Creighton and inaugural sports editor George Gross. They launched the Fund in the 1980s.
The Sun’s news, city and photo desks have been my steadfast allies.
So have my Sun “elves,” plus the truly noble staff at Variety Village, and my wife Carolyn, all of whom steered the Fund straight, while I tried to find my calculator’s “on” switch.
Most of all, of course, our donors deserve the credit, including these most recent additions to the honour roll. You can still join them before year’s end. Donate direct at www.sunchristmasfund.ca, call the Village at 416-699-7167.
Robert Buziak, Toronto, $50
Irving Frisch, Thornhill, $125
Gary Lesyk, Wellesley, $250
Susan Collings, Mississauga, $100
Natalie Satia Cavalcante, Toronto, $50
Anonymous, $500
Peter Mintsopoulos, Scarborough, $20
Raymond St. Jean, Toronto, $50
Christopher Joachimides, Toronto, $100
Murray Barrett, Mississauga, $100
Mike Wertli, Loretto, $100
Mark Stankiewicz, Oshawa, $100
Brian and Graeme Gaudet, Ajax, $100
Ted Calis, Mississauga, $100
Jessica Forsyth, Scarborough, $50
Maureen O’Leary, Newmarket, $100, in honour of Lynda O’Sullivan
Joe Garisto, Toronto, $50
Doug Salomon, Toronto, $100
Michael DiTaranto, Richmond Hill, $150
Hugh McCoy, Toronto, $200
Chris James, Mississauga, $100
Christina Mellies, Stoney Creek, $50
Ronald Collum, Oakville, $100
Joanne McTaggart, Prince Albert, $25
Ruth Wilson, Markham, $200
Maria Fata, Oshawa, $100, in honour of Tony Giammattolo
Joshua Engel-Yan, Toronto, $72
John G. Mitchell, Etobicoke, $30, in honour of Steve & staff and all the kids!
David Simon, Thornhill, $50
Adam Cherer, Innisfil, $50
Oliver Giesen, Brampton, $50
Bryan Kelly, Toronto, $200
Errol Ferrao, Mississauga, $150
TOTAL: $3,572
TOTAL TO DATE: $105,018
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