With a smile as wide as the arms spread above his head in jubilation, nine-year-old Noah stands before five shopping carts brimming with toys, while his family and Toy 'R' Us employee volunteers clap and whoop with delight.
The feeling of joy and excitement was tangible from the minute Noah, along with dad Adam, mom Tammy, aunt Jennifer and sisters Olivia, 13, and Atiya, 11, arrived at the store at Newmarket’s Upper Canada Mall at about 7 a.m. Nov. 13 for an experience of a lifetime, courtesy of Toys 'R' Us and Starlight Children’s Foundation.
About a year ago, Noah was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive central nervous system cancer called atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT). Since then, he has undergone three rounds of intense chemotherapy, three bone marrow transplants and endured the side effects of multiple toxic medications to fight the illness.
But yesterday, Noah and his Newmarket family couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces after completing the 3-Minute Dash, an exhilarating, pulse-pounding three-minute shopping spree through the aisles of Toys 'R' Us.
“It was easy to get him up today, not like a school morning,” his mom said with a smile.
Noah has just finished three months of proton radiation treatment in Jacksonville, Florida, as it isn’t available in Canada, Tammy said.
He received his initial treatment at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto from January to July, with his mother by his side, while his father worked and took care of his sisters in Newmarket.
“I put our name in the (Starlight) foundation at the start of the journey and I didn’t even know the Dash existed. We got the call in Florida, and we happened to be having a hard day that day, so the timing was so great, it just gave us something to look forward to when we got home,” Tammy said.
Noah is doing well, and is back at Newmarket’s St. John Chrysostom Catholic School, and is “happy to be back to somewhat of a normal routine after months in hospital,” Tammy said.
Noah has bravely faced and overcome many challenges in the past year, she said, including being separated from his family.
“Today, I see a boy who has demonstrated more bravery than I could ever imagine. We could not be more grateful to our Starlight family, especially for including his sisters in this experience.”
Dad Adam and Noah visited the store Monday to begin to devise a strategy for the spree, locating the Nintendo video games, Lego and board games — all favourites of Noah and his family.
And yesterday, before the clock started ticking, the family had a chance to map out their spree, as well as undertake a trial one-minute practice dash, thanks to Captain Starlight, who was guiding the event from his Segway.
“This is a magical day! It’s not only a magical day for Noah, it’s magical for Starlight. We’re doing this amazing 3-Minute Dash for Noah, thanks to our amazing friends at Toys 'R' Us Canada,” Brian Bringolf, executive director of Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada, said.
“They do a fundraiser for us, which last year raised over $1.5 million — so, it’s a big chunk of change — and the important premise behind it is that the money that they raise for us is spent in the community.”
The longstanding partnership between Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada and Toys 'R' Us Canada has helped to raise more than $20 million for programs that support children with serious illnesses, and their families. The 3-Minute Dash, introduced in 2013, has given more than 35 children across Canada an unforgettable shopping experience, he said.
To participate in the Dash program, Starlight family members enter by sharing details of their child’s journey. A winner is then randomly selected by the foundation.
“These kids go through so much, you can look at him and just know he has been there and back, and to give him this opportunity is wonderful,” Bringolf said. “This is a remarkable family on top of everything else, they’ve given back some of the toys to Sick Kids Hospital. How do you do that? When you go through so much and you have the presence of mind to give back even more?”
The family is donating a portion of the toys they collected to other children kids who are being treated for serious illnesses in hospitals.
When Captain Starlight sounded the horn, and the streamers flew through the air to start the dash, Noah and his sisters led the race, heading for the Lego aisle first. The carts quickly filled, five in total.
It was almost overwhelming, dad Adam acknowledges afterwards, laughing as the adrenaline begins to slow down, “We didn’t follow the strategy at all.”
They couldn’t be more grateful to Toys 'R' Us and Starlight, the family said, while Noah was hugging his new large teddy bear.
“Usually Toys “R” Us is a pretty magical place for kids, but today is particularly special for Noah, and we’re delighted we can host him here today,” said Frank Juhasz, vice-president of marketing and innovation.
He said the dashes are a moving experience for all involved.
“It’s a pretty exciting thing, not for the little boy doing the dash today but for everybody in the store,” he said. “We have partnered with Starlight for seven years, we love working together and bringing a little bit of magic into these children’s lives.”
In addition to the 3-Minute Dash, Starlight Canada and Toys 'R' Us Canada holds the annual Star campaign and the collectible Starlight Bear program.
The 11th limited edition collectible Starlight Bear is called Super Bear and sells for $19.99 plus taxes in stores and online at toysrus.ca. The star paper icon is available for a minimum donation of $1 at checkouts in any store.
Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada also partners with Toys 'R' Us Canada to support various local community initiatives. Over the past five years, Starlight Canada, along with Toys 'R' Us Canada and Babies 'R' Us Canada, has provided donations to Southlake Regional Health Centre, including crib mobiles, infant seats, comfort kits and toys, as well as cash donations.
