At first it was just having drinks with the neighbours at Christmas. The Brownes would collect a few toys and some cash for a good cause.
It was five years ago that Jim Browne heard of the great work being done by Sleeping Children Around the World, an organization that donates bed kits to children in underdeveloped and developing countries. Each bed kit contains a mat, pillow, sheet, blanket, clothing, towel, school supplies and a mosquito net, if needed.
The family adopted that cause and moved their Christmas cocktail fundraiser to the Rosewood Bistro in the nearby Sherwood Forrest Village Shopping Centre.
Last night, the party took over the entire top floor of the restaurant.
The Sleeping Children program was founded in 1970 by Murray Dryden. While on a trip in India, Dryden tripped over a sleeping child in the streets. He realized that while he may not be able to end world hunger, he could provide a child with a good night's sleep.
"If these kids don't have the money for a school uniform, they can't go to school," says Browne.
"We do this because you've got to give back," he said in an interview this morning. "These kids have nothing."
Last year, the annual Holiday Cheer gathering raised enough money to buy 150 bed kits for the program. After last night's event, another 168 new kits will be purchased with the almost $6,000 that was raised.
Not bad for a giving tradition that Browne notes, "just started with getting a few neighbours together for drinks at Christmas."
