Toy drive honours man who secretly donated to B.C. Children's Hospital
Credit to Author: Nick Eagland| Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2019 01:18:02 +0000
When Victor Ghirra died, his loved ones didn’t know so many strangers would be grieving with them.
The 37-year-old died in 2007 of sleep apnea, leaving behind his wife and four sons. Soon after, friends and family learned that the heart-of-gold Ghirra had secretly been buying thousands of dollars worth of toys every Christmas to donate anonymously to sick kids at B.C. Children’s Hospital.
“Nobody knew about it,” said Ghirra’s friend Harvey Kooner. “During the funeral process, I heard this story. It really moved me.”
After the funeral, Kooner spoke with Ghirra’s boss at Vancity Credit Union about supporting the launch of a toy drive in Ghirra’s memory, he said.
Ghirra’s grieving family, wanting to honour him and his commitment to giving, joined in organizing the Victor Ghirra Toy Drive.
On Saturday, they celebrated 13 years of lifting the spirits of children each holiday season in his name. They surpassed their goal this year of collecting 3,000 toys.
“It’s been growing every year and everyone is joining in to celebrate Victor’s giving spirit,” said Kooner, who continues to organize the event.
Since 2007, the toy drive has collected more than 40,650 toys for charities including the B.C. Children’s Hospital, Canuck Place, Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau and two dozen more.
At Ghirra’s funeral, many of his loved ones shared stories of how he had always helped them in times of need, Kooner said. “So many people were saying that he was their best friend,” he said.
Thirteen years later, they continue to share stories about Ghirra’s relentless giving and support. Michael Ghirra has been involved with the toy drive from the start and remembers his big brother that way, too.
“It keeps Victor’s spirit alive with all our friends and families,” he said.
“He was always giving, he was a giving guy. We just wanted to keep that giving spirit to the Children’s Hospital.”
Kooner said that toy drives like Ghirra’s help fill a gap as families struggle with affordability in the province.
“To have a toy given to a child for the holidays may make a difference by giving them some hope for the new year,” he said. “Whatever way we can help, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The family also awards a $3,500 scholarship annually to a community-minded student at McNair Secondary School in Ghirra’s honour.
CLICK HERE to report a typo.
Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com