The annual Keian’s Holiday Wish Toy Drive is once again underway in Surrey, held in memory of Keian Blundell, a six-year-old boy and honorary RCMP member who died of leukemia in 2014.
Mounties are collecting donations that will help BC Children’s Hospital and Surrey Memorial Hospital help sick children and their families. Nearly 11,500 toys, as well as $39,500 in cash, have been collected by the Surrey RCMP for the toy drive since 2017.
Cpl. Sarbjit Sangha said this year’s drive is being organized by the Surrey RCMP Community Response Unit and Youth Unit. They’ll be collecting new unwrapped toys suitable for recipients 18 and younger, cash donations and gift cards until Dec. 14. Sangha added that donations can be dropped off at the Surrey RCMP’s Main Detachment or the district offices in Whalley/City Centre, Guildford, and Newton, and that the Blundell family has also set up an Amazon Wish List for people wanting to donate online.
Also, three “donation events” will be held to support the toy drive at Superstore locations in Guildford, Newton, and South Surrey Superstore on Friday, Dec. 8, between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Staff Sgt. Nigel Pronger, commander of Surrey RCMP Community Response Unit, said BC Children’s Hospital and SMH will distribute the toys to the “families of children impacted by medical challenges, both here in our community and across the province, easing the burden on parents in difficult times and bringing joy to the faces of kids.”