Thank you to everyone who has supported the #TorontoStrong Fund. The generous contributions made by corporations, individuals, and organizations have now been disbursed to the victims of the Yonge Street Attack and of the Danforth Shooting. The victims are all grateful for the support received to help them in their healing.

The Fund is currently closed to donations.

#TorontoStrong Fund

Mayor John Tory and the City of Toronto partnered with Toronto Foundation to establish the #TorontoStrong Fund in response to the April 23 van attack on Yonge Street that left 10 dead, 16 injured and a city in shock.

On July 22 tragedy struck again, this time on Danforth Avenue where two people were killed by gunfire and 13 others injured. The City of Toronto and Toronto Foundation, working with the pro bono #TorontoStrong steering committee established a second fund to provide direct support to the victims of the Danforth shooting.

Both events have demonstrated the pain that can be inflicted on our city and our residents. But they also reveal Toronto’s strength, our compassion and our resilience. First responders fought to keep victims alive and protect bystanders from further violence. Civilians comforted and supported the victims even as they witnessed unspeakable horror. Medical practitioners and social workers are working around the clock to save lives and heal physical and emotional injuries.

The over $4 million donated to the #TorontoStrong Fund has now been distributed to the 41 victims and families of the Yonge Street van attack and the Danforth shooting.

“I would like to sincerely thank all of the generous Toronto residents, businesses and community groups who made donations to support these victims and families,” said Mayor John Tory. “These events, while tragic, highlighted the compassion, resilience and humanity of the people of Toronto. While we will never forget these events, we will also never forget how so many people came together dedicated to helping those affected and to healing their communities.”

To distribute the collected funds from both tragic events, the pro bono fund administrator, former Toronto mayor Barbara Hall, met with bereaved families, survivors, medical and social service personnel, reviewed best practices from around the world and received guidance from the #TorontoStrong Steering Committee to create a disbursement framework. The review process also took into account the short- and long-term physical and psychological injuries sustained by survivors, as well as the impact of loss of life on families left behind.

Following the disbursement of all the donations to the victims, Toronto Foundation announced the creation of The Barbara Hall Community Resilience Fund. Working in partnership with the Wellesley Institute, this new initiative will develop and support a network of crisis responders to ensure strong coordination and collaboration between organizations.

To mark these tragic events and memorialize the victims, the City of Toronto will launch consultations with survivors, bereaved families and impacted communities on permanent memorials in early 2019.

Tax Receipting

If you did not get an email with your tax receipt or made an error on the donation form, please get in touch with Canada Helps. You can email them at info@canadahelps.org or contact their call centre at 416-628-6948

Contact

Online errors: For issues with the donation form, or questions about tax receipting, please call the Canada Helps call centre at 416-628-6948

Media: Please contact Andrea Martinelli at City of Toronto by email or phone 416-799-5713

Victim & Family Liaison: Deana Shaw, by email or phone at 647-562-5517

Press Releases

#TorontoStrong Fund distributed to victims and families of Yonge Street van attack and the Danforth shooting. December 7, 2018.

#TorontoStrong Fund distributes 3.5 million raised for victims of Yonge St tragedy. October 11, 2018

#TorontoStrong Fund to co-ordinate donations for victims of Danforth shooting. July 27, 2018

#TorontoStrong Fund names former Mayor Barbara Hall as administrator. June 13, 2018

LCBO Donation Campaign Raises Over Half a Million Dollars in Support of #TorontoStrong Fund. May 8, 2018.

#TorontoStrong Fund donate first $500,000 to support victims and families of Toronto attack. May 4, 2018.

#TorontoStrong Fund surpasses $1 million mark. April 27, 2018.

City of Toronto establishes #TorontoStrong Fund to support victims of tragic incident at Yonge and Finch. April 24, 2018.

This memorial message was run pro-bono by The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star.