In memory of Maxwell
By Mark Squibb
Through a valiant fundraising effort, the family of the late Maxwell Canning, who was killed in a workplace motor vehicle accident in 2022 at the age of 25, has been able to donate over $2,600 worth of breakfast favourites to the Octagon Pond Elementary breakfast program in Maxwell’s memory.
“Maxwell was a very loving, caring, and kind person,” said his mother Lisa Hanlon. “He never said anything bad about anyone. He was very generous, and so in honour of him and of his legacy, and to carry on his memory, we wanted to make this donation to the breakfast program here at Octagon Pond Elementary.”
The Canning family intended to donate $500, but friends and relatives pitched in, and the donation ballooned to $2,638.
Of the many worthy causes the family could have chosen to fundraise for, the Octagon Pond Elementary breakfast program was a natural fit. Maxwell’s sister Alyssa is a member of the school council and an avid volunteer with the breakfast program and book fair. Her children, Maxwell’s niece and nephew Abby and Dylan, attend the school.
“We’re so grateful at Octagon Pond to be the recipients of this donation,” said school principal Jennifer Vokey-Tobin. “The students are the lucky recipients of this donation. They look forward to the breakfast program. They come in, as Alyssa knows, smiling and excited when the food is laid out. So, I know this is going to help fill a lot of students’ bellies.”
Breakfast snacks are laid out for students as they enter the building each morning, making the program accessible to each and every student.
“We don’t want anyone singled out,” said Vokey. “We want everyone to have equal access to the food.”
Since Maxwell’s passing, the family has found the means to give back to the community in his honour a number of times. In 2024, the family donated over 200 books to the Octagon Pond Elementary library. Alyssa has also fundraised over $3,000 for Threads of Life, a charity committed to supporting families impacted by workplace injuries and deaths, through the Steps for Life fundraising event.
The family wished to express its thanks to all who donated. Anyone still wishing to donate in Maxwell’s memory can do so at https://www.kidseatsmart.ca/donate-now/. Maxwell would have turned 29 on October 25.