Grassways Christmas Dinner

Members of the Firgrove Community were feted by Toronto Police over the Christmas holidays.

Nearly 150 residents had dinner and children took away toys for the festive season on Dec. 17.

Community Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) co-chair Mark Tenaglia and his wife Lesley organized the event.

“While talking to some of the officers embedded in the community, the idea of doing a turkey drive was tossed around,” he said. “I however figured we could do something more special and so I got together with my wife and called our family and friends to raise some money.”

In just under 30 minutes, the Tenaglia’s raised over $800.

The money was used to prepare a delicious jerk chicken, rice & peas and coleslaw meal.

“We also provided them with drinks and dessert and one of the officers from the Division dressed up as Santa and handed out gifts to the kids,” said Tenaglia.

Constables JuanCarlos Valencia and Robert Griffin as well as Sergeant Michelle Masters helped organize the event at the Firgrove Community Centre.Auxiliary Officer Alexandra Stefou acquired all the toy donations for the kids.

“It was just a wonderful event, but the most important thing that came out of it was the interaction with the community,” added Tenaglia.

Inspector Riyaz Hussein, the other CPLC co-chair, said the community response was very heartening.

“It was great to see residents coming out and joining us for a celebration at Xmas time,” he said. “It was also very gratifying to see the smiles on the children’s faces as they received their gifts.”