Final Taylor Swift Way street signs up for auction until Sunday
CBC News | Posted: November 30, 2024 10:00 AM | Last Updated: 15 hours ago
Daily Bread Food Bank CEO says he hopes funds raised will reach upwards of $200K
The last five signs bearing the name Taylor Swift Way are up for auction until Sunday at midnight.
A total of 22 signs went up along Queen Street W., John Street, Front Street and Blue Jays Way. The final five signs up for grabs are from Queen Street W. The proceeds will raise money for the Daily Bread Food Bank.
Rogers is matching funds raised up to $113,000 — a nod to Swift's lucky number 13.
The temporary street sign makeover honoured the star during her six-concert run in the city.
Tatiana Sorella, one of the previous auction winners, says she'll be hanging the sign in her living room.
"It was actually a surprise, my dad was bidding on it for me," she said, with the winning big hitting $2,800.
"He said he wanted me to have a piece of memorabilia and I cried on the phone with him. It's super exciting that the money is going to Daily Bread to help people over the holidays."
Sorella is a lifelong fan and saw Swift play in Milan and then again during the Toronto tour. Swift played six shows at Toronto's Rogers Centre across two weekends — from Nov. 14 to 16 and Nov. 21 to 23, as part of her Eras tour.
Sorella said every year she and her father choose a charity to support together. In previous years, they've supported women's shelters.
"This was kind of like a two in one, he could support a charity and do something memorable for me," she said, adding she volunteers with Daily Bread through her workplace.
Daily Bread in desperate need, hoping Swift will donate too
With one meal costing Daily Bread about $1, that money will go a long way to feeding the thousands of people who rely on the food bank everyday, said Neil Hetherington, the food bank's CEO.
"People have paid thousands of dollars to be able to get a piece of Toronto history," he said.
By Friday afternoon, the auctions had raised $83,000. With Rogers matching these bids, that amounts to $166,000. Hetherington said they hope to raise at least $30,000 more.
"With one in 10 Torontonians now using the Daily Bread, these funds will go very, very quickly," he said.
"There has been exponential growth of food bank usage."
With a history of Swift donating to local food banks where she performs, Hetherington is holding out hope that the bank will see an additional donation from the star.
The auction ends Sunday at 11:45 p.m.