Toronto resident vows to run a half marathon wearing a Minions onesie

A Parkdale resident is coordinating a fundraiser to raise awareness and financial support for the Parkdale Community Food Bank — but this is not your typical fundraiser.

Tommy Trinh, 23, will be trying to raise money for food insecurity, and he has promised some outrageous activities to get people to donate to this cause.

Some of these activities include running a half marathon in a Minions onesie and tattooing the names of the contributors on his body. If a person donates $100 or more, he said he will hand-deliver them a coffee.

i recently moved to parkdale, toronto and i walk by the parkdale community food bank pretty regularly.

i'm always really inspired by the local volunteers that are putting in their own time and energy for this cause, and i wanted to try helping in whatever way i could.

— tommy (@tommytrxnh) June 24, 2024

After speaking with blogTO, Trinh has since added even more donation incentives.

"It's one thing to ask people to donate and say that you are doing it for a good cause. And it's another thing to make it fun and provide a way for contributors and donors to be a part of the narrative," Trinh said.

"People would be more likely to contribute if I put up a silly incentive to motivate them. I found that what motivates a lot of people is just doing things that are funny."

current donation incentives https://t.co/iw60Q0vFQ4 pic.twitter.com/BwJQxdQo5N

— tommy (@tommytrxnh) July 9, 2024

Trinh said that he has his friends helping him achieve these targets he's set for himself.

"I have a friend who's a tattoo artist and he's willing to help me stencil, which is basically like a temporary tattoo."

As for the marathon, he will do it soon after the fundraiser ends on July 11 because he doesn't want to let the "momentum and steam to die down."

Trinh, who was born and raised in Toronto, moved to the Parkdale neighbourhood in June of this year. He says what caught his attention almost immediately were the long queues for the food bank. This prompted him to do something to raise awareness about food insecurity.

Tommy Trinh.

"I found that one in 10 Torontonians rely on food banks to feed themselves. That really hit me. I wanted to use my platform to help and make a change," Trinh said.

He started the fundraiser on June 27 and within less than a week, he has raised $4,441 from 57 unique donors. He says that all the proceeds will be given directly to the food bank.