Happy New Year from Leaside Life!
The past several years have been nothing short of horrific for so many local news outlets. This was highlighted last September as Metroland, one of the country’s largest publishers, shuttered 70 community papers and along with it 600 jobs. Thanks to a wonderful group of supportive and community-minded advertisers, Leaside Life has been able to buck this trend and continues to grow. Now entering our 13th year of serving the Leaside and Bennington Heights community, we are thrilled to be publishing our 140th edition. Thanks to you!
A new Phill Box for your meds?
Did you know that more than 1.2 billion plastic pill bottles are dispensed in Canada each year? Most of these bottles are made of recycled plastic, called #5 polyethylene, and are made from a clear orange plastic to help prevent ultraviolet light from damaging the pills inside. Although the City of Toronto says you can put the familiar orange pill bottles in your blue bin for recycling, these little orange beauties are hard to recycle and many end up in the landfill.
What’s that got to do with Leaside? Our very own Pace Pharmacy has partnered with US-based Parcel Health to offer a sustainable alternative to the plastic pill bottle. The Phill Box is a paper-based, 100% curbside-recyclable and biodegradable prescription packaging alternative to plastic pill bottles. It is water-resistant, light-proof and made with sustainably sourced paper. “When I first learned about what Parcel co-founders Melinda and Mallory were doing, I immediately fell in love with the mission and the idea of being able to offer this to patients across Canada,” Adam Silvertown, the pharmacy’s founder and owner, states. “I believe many patients are more likely than ever before to want and care about a new and improved type of packaging that is better for the environment.”
Macnaughton and Cameron neighbours decorate community tree
What started during Covid as an opportunity for neighbours to meet each other while obeying the social distancing rules has turned into an annual tradition for the neighbours on Macnaughton and Cameron. A tree, compliments of Leasider Daryn Everett, and with the help of Mitch Cruikshank and Jack McFadden, is erected in Fr. Caulfield Park. The neighbours then gather and do a community decorating day with donations collected in support of the Leaside Toy Drive.
The 20th annual Leaside Toy Drive brings joy
The Leaside Toy Drive held their annual toy drive for the children of Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park neighbourhoods at the Leaside Pub on Thurs., Nov. 30. It was their 20th anniversary and they delivered more than 6,000 toys this year and more than 50,000 toys since they began. They thank each and every person who donated cash or an unwrapped toy to help bring some joy to these children at Christmastime!