A Treasure Trove for the Children's Health Clinic

On a rainy October afternoon, we paid a visit Thomasina "Tommie" Caulfield to pick up a very unique and exciting donation. Tommie has been passionately building her TY Beanie Baby collection for several years, and she certainly has something to show for it. When we found her in the lobby, she was standing amidst three clear garbage bags, each one stuffed-full with the colourful little animals.

 

"A lot of time and money went into it" she confesses as she begins pulling out couple little bears to show off. Each Beanie Baby is still attached to the original tags, and each tag is meticulously sealed in a protective plastic case. Up until now, the Beanie Babies have been stored inside of a sturdy glass display cupboard, and have never been played with. Today, each one is in mint, fresh-off-the shelf condition. She grabs a few more out of the bag, letting us know a little about each one as she goes. She picks up a dalmatian called "Spot" and recounts that he was particularly difficult to track down.

 

 

After all her years of collecting, Tommie smiles as she tells us some of her treasure trove has already been sent to her grandchildren. The large remaining percentage are being generously donated to the Children's Health Clinic at the Misericordia Community Hospital, where they will be used as gifts, rewards, and objects of comfort to keep kids' spirits bright. We can't thank you enough, Tommie! We know this wonderful contribution will be put to great use. In total, Ms. Caulfield donated 147 Beanie Babies.

 

Pictured: Bonnie Megley, Senior Director of Development for Covenant Foundation, and Kathy McLeod, Head Nurse of the Child Health Clinic.