CUPE child care workers in Windsor deliver thousands of toys to those in need

Toronto, ON – Child care workers at ABC Day Nursery in Windsor, represented by CUPE Local 543.4, have donated thousands of dollars’ worth of toys to the annual Toys For Tots fundraiser hosted by Windsor Moose Lodge.

“This massive donation will help hundreds of families in need this holiday season,” says Kim Gilbert, parent and unit chair at CUPE Local 543.4. “Child care workers know first-hand how important and stressful this time of year can be for parents and caregivers. Thanks to the generous contributions from workers and parents, whose children attend ABC Day Nursery, we are able to donate four carloads of toys to this incredible drive and fundraiser.”

On Thursday, November 12, members from the CUPE local unit will deliver the toys to Windsor Moose Lodge, who have made the drive and fundraiser an astounding success since its inception in 1925.

“We’re a community of child care providers, operators, parents, and community members who all want to make a positive difference,” says Kaye Homes, operator of ABC Day Nursery and vocal supporter of the drive. “Parents and caregivers in this province face overwhelming pressures—which is why we work together as a community to help each other and lobby for long-term change.”

In fall of this year, ABC Nursery’s operator plans to team up with CUPE members to lobby with local councilors and other decision makers for a publicly funded, not-for-profit, accessible, and universal child care system.

“Child care waitlists continue to grow, parent fees are at an all-time-high, and the Ford government shows no signs of giving parents meaningful support, which is why we’re rising up to support one another” continued Gilbert. “It’s efforts like this that show how important the child care sector is to families and how far we still need to go so that parents and caregivers have the support they need and deserve.”

Members at the CUPE Local 543.4 unit ask that all community members pay-it-forward by signing an online petition by the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care that calls on the Ontario government to fix the province’s broken child care system and provide a publicly funded, not-for-profit, and universal child care system for all.

The petition can be found at: www.childcareontario.org/rising_up_petition.

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