Bevy of Beanie Babies finds new life at school
Friday, January 12, 2007 11:45 PM PST
By Brenda Blevins McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleHundreds of Beanie Babies have new homes, thanks to Maxine Shippy.
The stuffed toys began their lives as part of a collection Maxine amassed over a two- or three-year span. In their later years, they languished in plastic bins at Maxine's Longview home.
Over Thanksgiving, an idea came to light.
Maria Beattie, who knows Maxine through her brother, was talking with her family about the importance of giving to others and being thankful.
"(This) led to a conversation about the students at my school," e-mailed Maria, who is an English as a second language teacher at Sunrise Elementary School in Albany, Ore. "Eighty-five percent receive free or reduced lunch."
The conversation continued during a Thanksgiving celebration at Maxine's home.
"(She) had already been thinking about what to do with her Beanie Baby collection, and she had the idea of giving them to the kids at my school," Maria wrote.
The story Maxine heard about the children touched her heart.
"They (Maxine's daughter and son-in-law) told me about how wonderful the kids are, but how poor they are," Maxine said.
Maxine had farmed out a portion of her collection to her daughter in Bellingham and to her two granddaughters. They pooled their resources and gathered 450 of the stuffed creatures to take to the school.
"The kids were all very happy," Maria wrote. "There were 450 Beanie Babies, all in mint condition and every child received one as they left for vacation. It was wonderful."
Maxine said she kept a few of the animals, mainly the holiday-themed creatures such as bunnies for Easter and Christmas Beanies.
"There was one giant and the counselor kept that for her office," Maxine said. "She said when the kids come in with a problem, they just hug and squeeze it."
Maxine said she is pleased her hard work went to a good cause.
"I guess they just had a ball," she said. "I had a good time collecting them, and they had a good time getting them."
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