On December 13–14, the Grand Iranian Charity Auction Festival of Toronto was held with the goal of supporting five cancer patients in the Toronto–Richmond Hill area.
At this festival, all vendors who rented tables were required to sell their items below market price to maximize charitable impact.
We would like to acknowledge the generous sponsors of this event: Dr. Zohreh Shafagh, dentist; Souri Sabri, real estate broker; Farnaz Tavakoli, immigration consultant; and Pars College.
Through this charity market, we raised $20,000 CAD. As always, free tables were provided to women who are heads of household.
After covering expenses—including the venue rental ($8,000), music and performances ($3,000), printing of posters and flyers, certificate frames, name tags, and prints ($1,000), two full days of professional cleaning ($500, including an additional $60 gratuity), street signage ($120 for 31 handmade signs plus 17 pre-owned ground signs), tablecloths ($300), table rentals and delivery ($1,000), and payments to two individuals for moving tables into the hall ($80)—a remaining balance of $6,000 was secured.
Simin Mirzaei played a key role in coordinating tables and all related logistics. Selvara Lazergani generously stood at a dedicated charity table for two full days, with all proceeds going directly to patients.
Significant support in setting up and dismantling the venue was provided by: Simin Mirzaei, Mahnaz Jabarian, Maryam Hashemi, Neda Jahangiri, Sona Moghadam, Azita Arbabian, Salomeh Ahadi, Fardad Kazemi, Arash Kharabi, Roya Habibi, Ali Amin, Yari, Hossein Kamyab, and Nilo Janami.
Financial Summary
In addition to the $6,000 remaining from the market:
• $3,500 was raised through community support up to November 27
• An additional $2,300 was collected afterward
This brought the total to $11,800, which was fully completed by December 2.
Additional contributions included:
• $500 donated from classes organized by Lili Nabavi and Mozhgan Yaghoubian
• A donation of 5 million Iranian tomans, converted to CAD and added to the campaign
• Further individual donations, including support from Mr. Fotovat (Canada sponsor), a donor who purchased a banner at the market, Selvara Lazergani’s $350 in sales proceeds, and one post-campaign donation—totaling $1,120
As a result, we were able not only to support five cancer patients, but also to contribute toward the surgery costs of another patient who works cleaning animal shelters at Jiran Animal Sanctuary, as well as to assist a woman who has undergone limb amputation due to diabetes.
Total charitable contributions: $13,020 CAD
Official Recognitions
During this event, three Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to Aiding People Society for its support of cancer patients. These certificates were presented by:
• Vincent Ho, Member of Parliament for Richmond Hill
• Daisy Wai, Ontario MPP for Richmond Hill
• Godwin Chan, Deputy Mayor of Richmond Hill
All three certificates are officially dedicated to Aiding People Society.