In preparation for a Youth Day event on 16 June this year (which I previously wrote about here), I asked my friends whether they had any children’s toys or books that their little ones had outgrown and weren’t playing with anymore.
Thanks to their generosity, a nice collection of toys could be donated to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
It’s really nice knowing that they’ll bring joy and happiness to a group of children who might not have many toys or books of their own at home. At least while they are in the hospital, recovering from traumatic injuries, burns, or all manner of serious illnesses, they’ll have something to play with – and to speed up their healing.
Finding Frohsinn - Living Now 
I see good ol’ Barney in there and teddy bears are always a hit. Really great idea.
Actually – there’s a funny story about the purple dinosaur. On the day we gave all the toys and things to the Friends of the Hospital, the Executive Director, David Stephens, immediately zeroed in on Barney with much delight. He explained that there was a little patient in the hospital, who had specifically asked him for a Barney, and that he was really pleased that he would be able to give it to him. Cute!
I also heard that soft toys and teddy bears are very popular… probably because they’re snuggly and comforting, and when you’re a little person and very sick and have to be in hospital, then you need all the comfort and reassurance you can get. 🙂 Janine said that they try to give a soft toy to all their patients, to keep and take home with them at the end. I think it’s a lovely idea.
I have not seen such a collection of toys in some time. What a thoughtful donation.
Kids tend to outgrow clothes and books and toys so quickly, and before you know it, the cupboards are full of boxes of unused things… It really makes sense to ‘spring-clean’ and ‘recycle’ items like that, particularly because there’s so many other kids in our country who don’t have any toys to play with. Mind you, when it comes to a *favourite* teddybear, toy or book, I can be quite sentimental and ‘clingy’, and wouldn’t dream of giving those away… But perhaps that’s a peculiarly Cancerian trait, hey, Kathy?