Donations & Bequests

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Donations & Bequests

A gift to Toller International is Passion-Fuelled Giving

  • Girl painting outside in school uniform.
  • Mexican sombrero and cowboy boots on wooden table.
  • Child painting with colorful apron and pencil

A gift to Toller International is an incredible way to leave a legacy of love for talented young people who are supported by the various projects and initiatives of Toller International. By supporting Toller International’s Area of Greatest Need, you provide the flexibility for your gift to be used to meet the most pressing priorities. You can also direct your gift to an area of work that’s most meaningful to you including:

  • Canadian Olympic Foundation (COF)
  • AMISTAD Canada
  • World Figure Sport
  • Planned Exhibitions
  • UBU Initiative, seminars and workshops
  • Passing the Torch – Support those who dedicate their careers to skating and art through training opportunities and financial aid.    

If a bequest in your will seems right for you, there are many ways to remember Toller International.

  • A percentage of your estate allows you to decide what portion of your estate you’d like to leave for Toller International.
  • A fixed amount gift is a good option for those who feel confident in their estate’s ability to meet other priorities.
  • A residual gift ensures that all other commitments of your estate (including gifts to family and other loved ones) are met first. The remainder is then given to Toller International.
  • • If you’re considering a gift to Toller International in your will, we would be happy to speak with you about your plans to identify or create a project that’s most meaningful to you. Please contact Phillippa Cranston Baran, Director, Toller International, phillippa@tollerinternational.com or 1-343-540-5910.

Toller International recommends that you discuss your plans with your financial or legal advisor, as well as your loved ones.

A gift to Toller International is transformative. Here are some stories.

I PAGLIACCI TRIBUTE
By Corey Circelli, ON

Figure skater posing dramatically on ice rink.

I began skating at the Cricket Club, Toller’s longtime rink. My coach was Ellen Burka, Toller’s long-time coach. In fact, Mrs. Burka used to call me “Little Toller.” She would send me home with lists of his performances to watch, marvel at, and learn from. To say that Toller is an inspiration for me would be an understatement. He was witty and flamboyant, both strong and soft, both masculine and feminine.

But, more than anything, he was one hundred percent authentically himself. The way he performed, expressed, and emoted is still very much unmatched in the sport of figure skating. His way to quite literally paint the ice with his blades while embodying an all-encompassing story is the complete definition of performance art.

It is this spirit that I dream of honouring with my tribute program of Toller’s legendary Pagliacci performance. The journey of creating this tribute is ever-evolving, as Toller’s repertoire of movements could fill catalogues. But my choreographer David Miller and my coaches Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson and I approach it as the most

exciting challenge. I try my hardest to pull from as many Toller sources as I can. I’m so excited to take on this challenge through my interpretation of Toller’s skating and I can’t wait to show it to the world. If I can capture a moment of that Toller magic even just once, it would mean the world to me knowing that I paid tribute to an idol.

Toller, I hope you’re painting somewhere with a cup of strawberry tea and watching from above.

This one is for you!

AWARD INSPIRES RESILIENCE AND PATIENCE
By Emma Bulawka, BC

Figure skater performing on indoor rink.

Toller Cranston was an artist. The ice was his canvas. His blades were the brushes. His edges were the paint. His body was the masterpiece. In 2018, I received the Toller Cranston Award. I am grateful and I will strive to honour and carry on what Toller lived and breathed for in sport and life.

This award has inspired me in ways I never knew an award could. It taught me resilience and patience.

It stretched my emotional and artistic limits on the ice. It has ignited a fire in me to demand more from within myself and to never settle for ordinary. After all, ordinary was the furthest word that could characterize Toller Cranston.

Every move came from deep within his soul. He skated with truth and raw emotion. He made each breath, step, move, split jump and extension, no matter how subtle, have a purpose behind it. He took us on a journey with him. He brought his art to life through his body. He won medals. He won championships. But his relevance in sport ran much deeper than a piece of hardware hanging around his neck. He never failed to put on a show. His presence and resilience are qualities that I admire. He was not afraid to be himself, regardless of those who opposed. He was widely remembered, not for his technical acquisition, but for his unparalleled presence and passion, on and off the ice.

Since winning this award, I have continued to train and strive for new and bigger goals. Through the hard times, accident, injury, a disappointing result, I have learned so much about myself as an athlete and a person. I hope to use what I have learned for good to inspire myself and others with my story. We all have a story. We all have a purpose.

Though I was not alive during Toller’s career, he has left a mark on me forever. He has inspired many other skaters and he will continue to do so for generations to come.