Neighbours in a quiet, tree-lined street rallied together today to support a mother's dream.

Residents of Mississauga, Ontario, pitched in to help Dianne Proctor with her Monster Garage Sale, which raised over $5,000 for a worthwhile project in Ghana, West Africa.

When Mrs. Proctor unexpectedly lost her 43-year-old son Bill to a brain aneurysm last year, she said her grief threatened to overwhelm her, but Mrs. Proctor decided instead, to honour her son's memory by helping out those less-fortunate.

“My son was a great believer in what former U.S. President Bill Clinton was doing in Africa, we used to talk about it a lot,” Proctor said. “I thought what better way of using his money than donating it to the Christian Children's Fund of Canada (CCFC). CCFC came back to me with a proposal to build a child development centre in Ghana.” And, as the Bill Proctor Child Development Centre began to take shape, friends, family and the community at large began to contribute.

Mrs. Proctor, a teacher at a private school, was touched when her students raised more than $10,000 for equipment, farm animals, water and other necessities to help the village.

“This garage sale is to help the village become self-sustaining,” said Mrs. Proctor. “It's a whole project built around the Bill Proctor Child Development Centre.”

Shoppers began arriving early looking to snag a bargain. The tables were filled with jewelry, Christmas decorations, books, new toys and other knick-knacks.
Two local churches — Applewood United and St. Luke's Anglican —  and the Applewood Boy Scouts are some of the supporters of the garage sale.

Dorothy Tam, Manager of Major and Planned Gifts at CCFC, said the  Proctor's efforts to build a centre in memory of her son and continue his legacy are commendable.

“The donations will enable us to provide a future of hope to children and provide them with tools they need to break the cycle of poverty and replace it with a cycle of self-reliance,” Tam said.