What started as a way for a family to make holiday memories together has turned into a way for that family to give back to their community.
Keith Bell, along with his wife, Allison, and daughter, Alaina, decided to build a Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine Christmas float with the help of his brother-in-law and other family members to participate in local Santa Claus parades. With many parade cancellations this year due to COVID-19, the family pivoted instead to craft the float for street parade use, and is gathering donations for The Sharing Place Food Centre in Orillia along its route.
“We thought it would be a good way to get some Christmas spirit going. It’s been a tough year,” Bell said. “It was a lot of fun and we really spent some quality family time together and really enjoyed doing it.”
He has experience with building floats with the Orillia Kinsmen. His son, Jake, who lives in Sudbury, participated virtually by offering advice along the way.
Last week, the float was a hit during a street parade in Washago, collecting 195 pounds of food for The Sharing Place.
After that parade, some community members decided they wanted to lend their help to take the idea further.
“My employer, Mid Ontario Disposal, saw what I was doing and really wanted to get involved. They’re huge supporters of the community. They paid for the making of the float and sponsored it,” said Bell. “As soon as I mentioned it on Facebook, I had other friends who reached out.”
Two of those friends were Bernie Roth and Jason Carpenter of Century 21 BJ Roth Realty, who offered to host an event outside their offices on Dec. 19.
“We’re being careful to do it while following COVID-19 protocols. People can drive through to look at it. If they want to get out and look, we ask they do so one family at a time and we have sanitizer and masks,” said Bell.
When considering a donation goal, Bell sets his sights high.
“It’s built onto a trailer. I would love to see us fill the trailer,” he said. “I think that would be a huge bonus for The Sharing Place.”
The Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine Christmas float will be parked at Century 21 BJ Roth Realty at 450 West St. N. on Dec. 19 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., and will be collecting food for The Sharing Place.
“We would love the opportunity to do more with this. If there are places that would have us, we’d love to come and park it. All we ask is for donations for the food bank,” said Bell.
