For The Love of Giving – Ken McKnight: Toymaker

There’s something extra special about a handmade gift!

For the past few years, Ken McKnight has been building wooden trucks, tractors and cradles and donating them to The Salvation Army in Saskatoon. He made and presented over 100 handcrafted pieces in 2022, distributed through Christmas assistance programs at The Salvation Army Saskatoon Temple.

“I’ve been doing them for quite a while,” he says. “I used to belong to the Woodworker’s Guild. Every Christmas, they would canvas people to make donations to give to The Salvation Army.” Even after he quit the guild, Ken enjoyed it so much that he continued making toys to donate.

“I buy a sheet of 4×8 of MDF, and that gives me 16 ends for cradles, then I buy 1x6s, and that gives me the sides and the bottom,” Ken explains. He donated 114 cradles in 2022 alone. These aren’t mass-produced prefabricated toys made from cheap materials; they are sturdy, fastened with nails and screws, and hand-painted.

Ken says that while he enjoys making cradles and can make a lot of them in a relatively short period, he favours making cars and tractors – perfect for kids growing up on the prairies.

“They’re harder to make but more fun,” he says. “They’re more fun to make because they’re all different.”

Lieutenant Angela Kerr was working in the toy store and saw firsthand how Ken’s donations made a difference:

“A woman came for help this Christmas. She was welcomed and headed to the ‘toy store’ to pick out something special for her daughter. She was overwhelmed not only by all the toys but especially by a row of handmade wooden cradles along the wall. With tears in her eyes, the mother shared that all her daughter asked for was a cradle for Christmas. She was so excited not only to find one but one handcrafted by a caring person here in Saskatoon. She was literally dancing in the lobby on her way out!”

Thank you so much for sharing your talents and gifts, Ken! This donation made Christmas extra special for Saskatoon kids this year. Ken says it takes about a year to make that many toys, and he’ll soon be starting on next year’s batch.

You, too, can use your talents to make a difference in your community. Contact your local Salvation Army to get involved: Locate – Prairie Division (salvationarmy.ca)