Holiday recipe: Food stand raises funds for local charity

Windsor, Ont. -

A young boy is using his favourite food dish for the perfect gift this holiday season.

Phillip Lamontagne believes every child should have a present under their Christmas tree.

“People don’t have any toys for Christmas,” says the seven-year-old who raised $650 with a charity taco stand.

He donated the money to Sparky’s Toy Drive.

“It was my idea,” says Lamontagne.

His family saw first-hand what it means to help people during difficult times and are paying it forward ahead of the holidays.

“We’ve had a lot of people be generous to us for my daughter’s leukaemia,” says his father, Daniel Lamontagne.

“We started a Go Fund Me that just exploded way beyond we could imagine so we thought it’s our turn to kind of help people.”

For over half a century, Sparky’s Toy Drive has helped provide local families with new toys for kids 13 and under at Christmas.

“When I child is doing something like that it means a bit more, so I thought it was awesome,” says Sean Costello, of the Windsor Firefighters Benefit Fund.

“Usually we range between 12 - 1,300 families and around 3,000 children.”

Items in demand this year include board games, crafts and toys for children one year of age.

“A lot of people worry about our youth in our community,” Costello says. “I’m here to tell you we’re in good hands.”

The group is accepting unwrapped toys until Dec. 23 at all fire hall locations and participating retailers.