Hamilton offers program to donate toys to pay for parking tickets

The City of Hamilton is offering a program to pay outstanding parking tickets by donating new, unwrapped toys for local children and families.

Hamilton’s Toys for Tickets program will run from Dec. 1 to 5, where a toy of equal or greater value to a Hamilton parking ticket, along with a receipt, can be donated to pay for the ticket.

Toys can be donated at 80 Main St. West, at Summers Lane across from City Hall, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on each day.

“By turning a parking ticket into an opportunity to give, the Toys for Tickets program is a simple but innovative way to support our community,” said Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath in a statement. “Hamiltonians are known for stepping up for one another, and this initiative offers residents a meaningful way to give back and brighten the holidays for local families.”

Only City of Hamilton-issued parking tickets are eligible for the program — other types of fines like red-light violations or speeding are not eligible.

Marnie Cluckie, the city manager for the City of Hamilton, says last year 65 parking tickets were turned into $4,841 in toy donations.

All donations will go directly to the United Way Halton and Hamilton.

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