KILLALOE – A community staple that has served thousands of kids over the years is in desperate need of replacement, and the Killaloe Community Resource Centre (CRC) is looking for your help.
The Toy Bus, a program administered by the CRC, travels to many rural communities week after week. Not only does it provide toys for children to use, it also offers programming to families.
The program has been running since 1994 when the first bus was purchased with funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada. It was later replaced with a 2004 model.
Funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Ontario Early Years Funding and United Way funding help cover the cost of gas and repairs to the bus.
“That keeps it rolling,” Kim Groskleg, Toy Bus supervisor, said.
Unfortunately, there are no capital dollars available to replace the bus, which has been breaking down more often than not lately.
Bil Smith is the executive director of the CRC. He said that last September, the bus was off the road for almost a month for repairs.
“We had a transmission problem,” Smith said. “We had to alter the programming.”
When the bus isn’t running, hundreds of family suffer as a result.
Get your July 20, 2016 edition of The Valley Gazette to read the full story.