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9 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,January 20,2022 insidehalton.com URGENT: Halton Council will vote on Feb 9thIt can take up to 500 years to create 1 inch of productive topsoil use our 1-click tool www.stopsprawlhalton.org Our last chance to save 5000 acres of Halton farmland THIS IS IT! Where has the time gone? It all began in 1988 with four people from St. Simon's Anglican Church who wanted to give back and make a difference in their community. The group became known as The Altruists of Oakville, and grew to ap- proximately 45 members. Their motto is "living and acting for the good of oth- ers." As a group, we have raised almost $1,365,000 working numerous Blue Jays games, CNE grand- stand concerts and running weekly bingos. We have supported/donated funds to many projects, including: • teddy bears to the Hal- ton Regional Police Service • local food banks • local minor sports teams • Oakville Distress Cen- tre phone line • two Oakville Care-A- Vans • new Red Cross van • car for CNIB • McDonald's Children's Charities • built playroom on pedi- atrics ward of Oakville Tra- falgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) • sponsored training of eight guide dogs with Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides. • funded the purchase of hospital beds and morphine pumps for OTMH • purchased deliberators for local senior residences • purchased therapeutic tub for Ian Anderson House • bought appliances for Seneca for seniors • provided bursaries at the 10 Oakville high schools. This is just a sampling of our efforts. As of Dec. 31, the Altru- ists of Oakville is no longer volunteering at bingos and/ or other fundraising events. We could not do that without saying thank you to the community for all its support. We take with us many memories, like helping out when Oakville hosted the Special Olympics, greeting the public with Alti-Bear (our mascot) at numerous Special Friends Days, the miles walked at a few Santa Claus Parades and of course being part of the opening of the Blue Jays' new home -- forever to us the SkyDome -- and the bringing Major League Baseball's World Series tro- phy north of the border for the first time. We have laughed, cried, cheered and hugged. Oh what a feeling giving back to your community gives you. So from all of us whose goal was to make a differ- ence to all of you who helped do just that, we the Altruists of Oakville say a sincere and heartfelt thank you. KIM CONRAD, SECRETARY/TREASURER ALTRUISTS OF OAKVILLE THANKS FOR SUCH AN AMAZING HOLIDAY DISPLAY The light display at Coro- nation Park throughout the festive season has been noth- ing short of delightful, stun- ning, imaginative and fun. I visited the park on the first official night when gifts of toys and food were being collected for distribu- tion to deserving families. There were friendly jug- glers, clowns and other per- formers, and Santa himself called out to the visitors, making for a heartwarming drive through the park. On a return trip, a few nights later, I observed fami- lies strolling through the dis- plays, their children running ahead to play on the small, snow-covered hills and among the lighted statues. The town's firefighters deserve an appreciative vote of thanks for arranging the toy and food drive. I imagine that the town workers deco- rated the park, so they are included in this thank you too. I count myself fortunate to be a citizen of a town that will extend such an effort to bring joy to its citizens, both young and old. Well done, Oakville. FAY COPLAND, OAKVILLE OPINION THANKS TO ALL WHO'VE SUPPORTED ALTRUISTS OF OAKVILLE SCAN THIS CODE FOR MORE LOCAL OPINIONS. The Oakville Beaver values the opinions of its readers, and the communi- ty at large. With that said, we welcome your letters to the editor on all matters that impact area residents. We ask that letters be no more than 275 words, and include the full name and town of the writer. Your address and tele- phone number must also be included for verification purposes only. We do not publish anon- ymous letters. Letters will be edited or rejected for offensive con- tent, factual errors, legal issues or space restric- tions. Send your letters to insi- dehalton@metroland.com. SEND US YOUR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR