What started as a small act of kindness turned into an annual holiday event.
Every year for the past 13 years, Patricia Gallagher has driven around Philadelphia delivering stuffed animals to elderly people in need of a little pick-me-up during the holiday season.
Since she handed out her first stuffed animal in 2009, she’s collected thousands and brightened the faces of countless people.
It all began in 2009 when she became an empty nester.
“I just got this idea in my head to call two nursing homes at random and ask if my mother and I could come and read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,'” she told CBS News.
Along with the classic Christmas tale, she brought some of her children’s stuffed animals for the residents to hold while she read.
But when it was time to collect the toys, she discovered that no one was willing to return them.
Gallagher realized the small toys she handed out helped lift the mood of everyone in the room.
“And all of a sudden, the whole room became alive with people jingling bells and holding Santa Claus [dolls] and everything and they really didn’t want to give them back because they thought we had given them a gift.”
Knowing she couldn’t do it all herself, she turned to Craigslist and posted an ad asking for gently used stuffed animals. She received 11,000 stuffed animals during the first two years.
She received donations from individuals, schools, and groups who held stuffed animal drives.
“I remember a boy named Jake who had a bar mitzvah project, and his mother asked if he could collect 100 [for me],” she said. “Well, he collected 413.”
“There was a middle school in Flemington, New Jersey, that collected 800 or 900 for me, twice.”
“One mother in particular said her daughter passed away, she had all these stuffed animals … she had kept them all on her daughter’s bed for years, but when she saw my post on Craigslist, she felt it was her daughter saying, ‘Mom, it’s time to pass these along so others can enjoy them.'”
After receiving thousands of stuffed animals, Gallagher had to put a cap on the number of donations she took in.
Although once December 1 comes around she delivers 250 toys each week to senior living facilities, veterans’ homes, and retired nuns.
“Who would think that elderly veterans would want stuffed animals? But they did. Not only for comfort, but they were conversation starters. It reminded them of when they were a kid.”
Who wouldn’t love to receive a stuffed toy during the holidays? I think this is a marvelous idea!
Please share this heartwarming story, and maybe it will inspire others to start something similar in their community.
