‘She was very compassionate’: N.S. parents start IWK toy drive to honour daughter

A Nova Scotia family delivers a truck-load of toys to the IWK in memory of their late daughter who was a patient at the health centre.

Ryan Titus and his wife Jessica decided to set up their first annual toy drive for the IWK in Halifax to honour their daughter who passed away.

“My wife came up with the idea, let’s start a toy drive,” Titus said.

He said the donations were more than they expected.

The inspiration for the toy drive was their daughter Sawyer, who passed away in October.

“You can’t even imagine how it made you feel, knowing that everybody thought of her, thought of us,” Titus said.

Toy donations support the IWK’s Child Life program, playrooms and holidays and celebrations throughout the year.

Krista Naugler, the IWK Child Life Specialist said the toys from the toy drive will go towards Operation Snowpile.

“It’s a way that we support families whether in hospital to help them keep things normal, to alleviate them from having to worry about Christmas lists and going out shopping,” Naugler said.

Titus said their family spent months at a time in the IWK during Sawyer’s life.

“I’ve seen firsthand kids that are here and stuck in holidays, why not try to make something a little brighter for somebody else?” He said.

Titus said the act was something his daughter would have done.

“Sawyer was like that, she took care of everybody else. She was very compassionate for being so young,” he said.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Lamb

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page