Around 1250 toys were raised, making this the biggest Christmas Wish Breakfast ever

By Tommy Osborne

Christmas Wish Breakfast

Christmas toy fundraiser sets new record with biggest year yet

Dec 10, 2024 | 3:02 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The sixth annual Prince George Christmas Wish Breakfast with Northern Capitals and Cariboo Cougars Club took place on December 10, and for the second year in a row it set a record for best year yet. While official numbers aren’t in yet, Event Organizer Valerie Marsh says around 1250 toys were donated and 400 breakfasts were served. That’s not even including all the cash and gift card donations received as well.

“It was so amazing watching everybody come early, excited with anticipation for the event. So many new faces this year, we always have the regular people that come and support every year, but this year it’s grown exponentially,” Marsh said.

“I think it’s amazing. It just shows that our community and the integrity that it has to give back every year. We always try and drive home that this is something you come and do before you go to work or before you go to school […] and this year I think it’s finally gaining traction. People are understanding that this is something that they can do before they head out for the day,” she continued.

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Partnering with United Way and St. Vincent de Paul, all the toys and funds received will go towards families and children, giving children Christmas presents who may otherwise not receive any. The Cariboo Cougars and Northern Capitals co-host the event, and they say it’s always a highlight of the year to give back to the community off the ice.

“It’s really fun every year, and it’s just fun to go pick out gifts with the whole team and just bring them all here and just enjoy it and giving back,” said third year Northern Capitals player Sarah Prestmo.

“They’re not going to be able to see these kids get these presents, but probably the smile that they’re going to have will last a lifetime for those kids because they’re going to go out and say: ‘hey, if it wasn’t for Christmas Wish Breakfast,’ we might not ever have had a gift at Christmas. So it means a lot to our organization, means a lot to our alumni, and means a lot to our parents,” said Cariboo Hockey General Manager Trevor Sprague.

“Our athletes, for the most part, they get to play hockey every day, and it’s an expensive sport. So for them to be able to do this and and give back to their community and give back to some young kids and maybe even some young athletes that are in the same sport as them, to have a good Christmas. So it’s pretty important for us,” Sprague continued.

The Christmas Wish Breakfast is really all about community. Beyond the obvious aspect of fundraising for community members who may otherwise not get Christmas Presents, it also brings many organizations together. For example, the Prince George Industrial Mutual Aid Committee (IMAC) has been one of the biggest sponsors of the event since it began, and it says it’s happy to find ways to give back to the community, especially since industry is a large part of Prince George’s identity.

“It’s been an easy sell. Collectively as a group, we have always supported it and it continues to have huge support behind it. So I hope to continue as long as we’re invited to be part of the Wish Breakfast,” said IMAC’s Co-chair Bryan Burleigh.

First responders also always have a huge presence, bringing plenty of donations and helping organize the donations that come in. While being a first responder is all about serving the community, RCMP Corporal Jennifer Cooper explained it’s nice to have fun opportunities to give back too, amid the very serious nature of their day-to-day jobs.

“We’re seeing them (community members) at some of the worst days of their lives. So this is a nice kind of outreach to do, build those relationships back up in a more positive way,” Cooper said.

Cooper added its nice to see how many people come out to support the fundraiser, saying it gives a nice feeling of feeling like you’re “part of something bigger,” and that fun events like this are always great for first responders to have some fun in the community.

“Our jobs definitely take a toll on our mental and emotional well-being. just because of the things that we’re exposed to daily. These kinds of events really build that battery back up again, kind of recharge it and give us another little boost towards going back out there and dealing with some of the negative aspects of our careers,” Cooper said.

With a record breaking amount of toys raised, the Christmas Wish Breakfast continues to not only bring community members together, but deliver smiles to hundreds of families on Christmas morning

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