Though Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival has come and gone, the community is not yet done raising funds for Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).
Peterborough’s viral sweet tooth destination Tastely Box has launched a months-long fundraiser with the goal of raising $10,000 in support of the PRHC Foundation. Over the next five months, a portion of proceeds from select in-store and online purchases will support the fundraiser, while in-store events will encourage community involvement.
“We just hope we can bring a community together and recognize what PRHC does,” says Polly Laneville, who owns Tastely Box with her husband James. “What they provide is far more than just health care. They provide love, comfort, and so much more to these families and we just want to be able to be a part of that as much as we can.”
After Laneville and her husband launched the sugar-coated business as mostly a hobby in 2021, it grew rapidly with the help of viral TikTok videos (Tastely Box currently boasts 2.3 million followers on TikTok and an additional 55 thousand on Instagram). Currently sharing a unit alongside Modern Makers Shop, Tastely Box is one of the first businesses in Peterborough with a freeze-dried candy pick ‘n’ mix and gummy pick ‘n’ mix where customers can curate their own mixes.
But while the business was making sweet steps, a lot was changing in Laneville’s personal life as well, as her mother was diagnosed with stage four cancer in late 2021 not long after Laneville and her husband launched Tastely Box. While Laneville’s mother immediately sought treatment, the cancer did not slow, and she passed away in January of 2023.
“She was spunky, had a very loud personality, was very funny, and was a great person,” Laneville says, noting that her mother encouraged her from a young age when teachers were impatient with Laneville, who has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD.
“My mom was very supportive of me and always said, ‘You’re going to be successful. You’re going to show them all what you’re capable of and show yourself, and you can do more than what people think you can’, and I’ve done that,” she says. “I’ve proved that to myself.”
Lanesville’s mother was treated at PRHC throughout her treatments and end-of-life care.
“I know that my mom and my dad both really appreciated what PRHC did for them, and they really appreciated what the local hospice did for them,” she says. “Everyone was just so kind, so gentle, so sweet, and had great, uplifting personalities. They were just a joy for her, my dad, and even us to be around.”
Laneville is hopeful to provide support for other families dealing with cancer through the Tastely Box fundraiser.
“It’s an awful thing to have to deal with,” she says. “I want to find some way to bring sunshine to those families and show them that there are people that know what they’re going through or have gone through, and we’re here to support them and the people who support them as well.”
Over the next few months while the fundraiser is in progress, 20 to 40 per cent of sale proceeds of nearly everything in store — except for limited commercial items — will be donated to the PRHC Foundation, including the freeze-dried candy pick ‘n’ mix, the gummy pick ‘n’ mix, and the recently re-launched rolled ice cream.
To encourage customers to shop in store, Tastely Box has many new items in the works to be launched over the coming months, including a gourmet marshmallow “fluff,” and the return of the “crackle candy” — a highly in-demand, in-house special. Also on the horizon is the creation of a grab ‘n’ go station with dipped cheesecakes and dipped ice cream sandwiches for those who don’t want to wait for rolled ice cream.
“We’ll have freezies that are just a dollar or even less, and things that are quick for kids and in their little budgets,” says Laneville. “We’re trying to stay within everyone’s budget, so it makes it easier for people to come in and still enjoy a treat and have a little bit of fun in a candy shop,”
Those who make donations to Tastely Box’s fundraiser through in-store purchases will also automatically be entered in a raffle to win a gift basket with products from a collection of local businesses, including Bowmanville-based Blazing Bombs and Lindsay-based plant shop Country Tropics. The aim is to have one raffle per month of the fundraiser, for a total of five prizes.
“We know the economy makes it difficult to run a small business, so anybody that is able to donate, we appreciate that,” she says. “Chantelle (Coyle of Modern Makers Shop) has such a great community of small businesses that she works with, so we know we’re going to be able to make some great baskets.”
Colouring contests for adults and children and a city-wide scavenger hunt will also be part of the fundraiser.
“That’s going to help kids get included into everything and get them to know about what the story is behind this and talk about PRHC just to open the conversation,” Laneville says. “But it’s also a way to encourage kids to learn about and be part of their communities.”
There will also be opportunity for those outside the region who are unable to step into the store to contribute to the fundraiser. A portion of the sale proceeds of selected limited edition gummy mixes, freeze dried mixes, and more on the Tastely Box website will be donated to the PRHC Foundation.
Taking advantage of Tastely Box’s large online following, Laneville will be posting games and activities through the company’s social media accounts to engage participation in the fundraiser.
“It’s just a fun way to encourage people to interact and help grow the knowledge about this fundraiser,” she says. “A lot of people are connected to knowing how it feels to be touched by cancer in some way, so I feel like it’s a good way to encourage that following of mine to just be part of it and learn about how valuable and strong an asset these hospitals and these support workers, nurses, and doctors are to all of our communities.”
Above all, Laneville hopes to help others experiencing the same loss and grief that she knows first-hand.
“I’m excited to finally be in a place for ourselves and for our family to be able to do this and honour my mom in this way, while also honouring the people who cared for her,” says Laneville.
“It’s just a drop in the bucket, because we just want to give thanks back. No matter how much we try to thank them, it’s never going to truly show the gratitude in which we truly feel for the care that they provided her.”
Tastely Box is located at 651 Chamberlain Street, Unit 1, in Peterborough.
The shop is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesday, noon to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and noon to 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
You can shop online anytime at tastelybox.ca and follow Tastely Box on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
