On Guelph's 10th Annual Trees for Tots Fundraiser

Marty Williams, former ED at the Downtown Guelph Business Association, deserves the community's eternal praise.

Often, a community hero goes unnoticed. Very often, said community heroes like it that way. But sometimes their stories need to be told.

This is the story of Marty Williams, the former Executive Director of the Downtown Guelph Business Association, who had an idea just over ten years ago that continues to pay dividends for the communities of Guelph and Wellington today.

On January 7th, 2023 the tenth annual Trees for Tots fundraiser in Guelph will go ahead, hosted by the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington. The 2022 fundraiser raised just shy of $100,000 for children in Guelph and Wellington, making it one of the organization’s largest fundraisers, and one of the community’s most anticipated events.

I can honestly say that when Marty gave me a call at the Children’s Foundation office in early December 2012 neither of us had any idea that his idea would make such a difference. Here is the letter that I wrote and was published in the Guelph Mercury Tribune on December 29th, 2022:

In early December 2012 Guelph City Council made a last-minute controversial decision to axe municipally provided Christmas tree pickup.

Slated to save the municipality very little all things considered, the community was upset. At the time, I was working as development co-ordinator at the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington (CFGW) and had developed a relationship with Marty Williams, who was then a couple of years into his role as Executive Director of the Downtown Guelph Business Association (DGBA).

In a moment of inspiration, Marty picked up the phone and gave me a call. “What if we get a few trucks and hold a Christmas Tree Pickup Fundraiser for CFGW?” he said to me. “If we can pull this together the DGBA will provide pizza lunch for the crew.”

Over the next few days, I worked feverishly alongside Glenna Banda, who was ED at CFGW at the time, to call in favours from donors and supporters. Terry Jay (RIP), owner of Terry’s Tree Service, came through with woodchippers and trucks, while other local businesses stepped up to provide drop-off points and additional equipment. As the fundraiser, christened Trees for Tots, came together, Marty Williams’ excitement and optimism never wavered.

Ten years in, Trees for Tots is now one of the Children’s Foundation’s most successful annual events, raising tens of thousands of dollars for kids across the city of Guelph and it’s all because Marty Williams saw an opportunity to step in and turn an unpopular municipal decision into a way to support the lives of growing children.

It’s no exaggeration to suggest that Marty Williams departs as executive director of the Downtown Guelph Business Association having made the lives of thousands of children in the community demonstrably better. For that, he deserves Guelph’s eternal thanks.

Peter Thurley,

Former Development Coordinator,

Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington (2012-2013)

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