After more than 35 years of helping terminally ill and sick children, Leo Larizza is shutting down the Teresina Larizza Charities (TLC) Foundation. “I get emotional just even talking about it now,” founder Leo Larizza said in an exclusive interview with CTV News. “The decision to end the TLC, it didn’t come easy.” For decades, Larizza has been granting wishes to children in their final days. From shopping sprees, to delivering gifts to children in hospital to operating Santa’s House, Larizza has raised millions of dollars and helped thousands of sick kids. “I think that I kept the spirit of my mom alive,” said Larizza. “I named it after her. She taught me to give to other people, and I think that we changed lives.” The past few years have taken a toll on him. He was banned from London Health Sciences Centre’s Children’s Hospital by then CEO Jackie Scheliefer Taylor. It also meant an end to the annual tradition of delivering gifts on Christmas. “There’s still there’s people out there that think something else happened,” said Larizza. “They think that there’s more to this story, but there isn’t. It’s as simple as one person who was using her power to show that she was the boss. Her words to me before I got banned was, you’re a star in this hospital, but our foundation has to be the main focus.” Larizza says his charity was doing things the LHSC foundation could not. “We were just doing things differently, but she didn’t like that. I will never get peace until I get an apology from the hospital, which I don’t think I’ll ever get. I‘ve written them many emails, sent to many board members, and never did they respond.” A few years later, the City of London removed Santa’s House from Victoria Park. “It wasn’t just a place to get pictures, it was a special,” said Larizza. “Many kids came and many of them it was there last Christmas. I just don’t understand why the city couldn’t have just said, ‘Look, we’re going to work with you. We want to keep it in London; we’re going to find a home.’” He says they had many ideas and suggestions for places in London, including converting Storybook Gardens into a Winter Wonderland with the house, but the city balked at the idea.” Over the years, we’ve featured a few different children who have benefitted from the TLC Foundation. Those include Jace Caspi who was gifted a vacation just days before his death and 11-year old Olivia Rawson. Since he broke the news on social media, he’s had dozens of comments from families sharing their experience with Larizza and the TLC Foundation. Many of them say he changed their family’s lives. “Leo put a smile my daughter Alyssa’s face while she was going through the toughest time of her life,” wrote Lisa Fader-Martentette. “He even travelled to Windsor to decorate her Hospice room so she would feel comfortable till her last breath. Leo, you truly made a difference and will always be appreciated beyond words.” In a testimonial, Karen Kipfer-Pryce said Leo gave his daughter hope in her final days before passing. “She was getting more down because she wanted to be home for Christmas with all of her family, and she was worried Santa would forget her at the hospital,” said Pryce. “The day before Christmas, special angels came in with a Christmas tree and presents, and her little face totally changed. She said, ‘Mommy, I think we can stay here for Christmas and I’m okay’. Our special angel was Leo and his helpers who we didn’t know. A total stranger came in and changed our whole world.” It’s stories like that why Larizza believes his purpose in life was to help children. “If you’re going to go take care of kids, you’ve got to show them that you’re happy and you can’t let your emotions get in the way,” said Larizza. “I guess I’m worn out in that even doing this interview, I’m trying to keep it together because this is tough for me. This is not easy.”
