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Growing up in the North York suburb of Downsview in the 1950s, David Mezzabotta was one of nine children living in a home his father had built by hand. His father, a bricklayer and contractor, often struggled to find work, especially in the winter. “These were tough times; there was a recession,” Mezzabotta said. At the holidays, the fact that money was tight felt especially obvious. It was often difficult for his family to afford gifts for everyone. “There was not much under the Christmas tree for us,” Mezzabotta said. That’s where the Toronto Star’s children’s charities came in. Introduced in 1906, and still operating today, the Santa Claus Fund was created to support families across the GTA around the holidays with gift box deliveries. As the snow began to fall and the Christmas lights went up, Mezzabotta and his siblings eagerly anticipated the arrival of what they called the “Star boxes.” “The highlight of our lives — myself, my younger brother John, and my younger sister Margaret, there was a gang of us — we really looked forward to those Star boxes when they came in,” he said. “When the gift boxes would arrive, they would be filled with cookies, candies, toys — all wrapped neatly with red Christmas paper,” Mezzabotta said. “There was always something like a little plastic car or truck or something like that. And there were chocolates in there.” The boxes felt considered, and celebratory. “They got a lot of stuff in there, and it was very nicely presented,” Mezzabotta said. “It was like opening a shoebox — a brand new pair of shoes.” Those goodies brought happiness long after Christmas Day. “They went well into the new year,” he said. “There was candies, there was cookies … it was stuff that would last.” Seven decades later, Mezzabotta has never forgotten the joy those boxes brought. “It’s a very pleasant memory for me,” he said. Today, he and his wife, Linda, donate regularly to the Toronto Star’s children’s charities. “Fortunately, both of us are in good health,” Mezzabotta said. “I’m 80 years old, she’s 78 and we’re still mobile. In many ways, we thank God and we thank our fortunes, and that’s why we give back.” Donating to the same program that brought Mezzabotta such joy in childhood feels like a way of bringing his life story full circle. “It’s always been a tradition for us to make a serious donation to Toronto Star’s Children Charities,” he said. “I said to my wife, ‘Please send like 100 bucks to these people because they have a very warm spot in my heart.’”
