Shared By: Brittany Tonello //
This little boy had his tackle box stolen off our dock. I reached out on our local social media sites in hopes we could bring it back home to my crushed child. He had an amazing support system from the fishing community, and now, he is paying it forward to help out another little boy or girl by donating some of his new stuff.
I have never been so overwhelmed with local and non local kindness! Just had to put it out there that the fishing community is freaking amazing!
The local media, Muskoka 411, shared Brittany’s story:
Article By Maddie Binning – October 5, 2022
A young angler from Bracebridge was left heartbroken after the theft of his tackle box, but soon after sharing the news online, he and his mother found themselves crying tears of joy at the community response.
Nine-year-old Khai Tonello’s tackle box was sitting on the dock when he left for school on Sept. 26 and gone when he came home that afternoon. Khai faces the daily challenges of growing up with ADHD and several other conditions, said his mother Brittany, and fishing is one of the few activities that truly calms him down and focuses his energy. To see him happy is a parent’s dream, she said, so she posted about the tackle box on Facebook in hopes of getting it back.
“Khai is special needs, and fishing is one of his outlets,” Brittany said. “When that happened, as a mother, my heart broke.”
The heartache didn’t last long, though, as around 100 messages flooded in of people wanting to donate money or supplies. Khai was shocked each time someone showed up. They had a lineup of cars coming to their house to bring donations the first day after the post.
Several tour companies also offered to bring him out on the water. They took one company up on their offer last Saturday, marking Khai’s first ever official tour.
“I’m blown away how fast the word got out,” Brittany said. “He may not have got his tackle box back, but he learned so much from the community.”
Because of the overwhelming response, Khai feels that he has enough equipment and plans to pass along the extra items to another local child.
“Thank you for helping me, and I feel very lucky,” Khai said. “I’ll be sure to donate to other people too.”
Khai and his mother have been putting together a tackle box for the donation to help “somebody else become a little fisherman,” she said. They will add to it using the monetary donations they’ve received before passing it along to another local boy or girl.
“I cherish everybody’s generosity,” Brittany said. “It’s not even I appreciate it, I cherish it. They’ve made my boy’s dreams come true.”
Read the full story from Muskoka 411 here.
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