Warming Children's Hearts with Stuffed Animals

CATONSVILLE, MD (November 22, 2015) -- Charlestown retirement community’s Madeline Eckstein leads a year-round project to collect and donate stuffed animals from residents and employees to children. About 500 stuffed animals have been donated ever since the project began five years ago.

An average of 20 stuffed elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, bears, and other species are collected each month. The smaller stuffed animals are delivered to Operation Smile, while the larger animals are delivered to Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore City.

Charlestown’s transportation department staff assists in bagging the stuffed animals and taking them to the two recipient charities.

Operation Smile is an international medical charity that has provided more than 220,000 free surgical procedures for children and young adults born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore provides a home away from home for seriously ill children and their families, and helps to fund programs in the local area that directly improve the well-being of children.

Eckstein is a longstanding member of the Rolling Hills Women’s Club of Catonsville, a nonprofit that does charity work in the area. She got the idea of donating stuffed animals while volunteering for Charlestown’s Treasure Sale in the linen section. She noticed that not all the stuffed animals were being purchased and asked if she could take them, clean them up and repair them so they could be donated to the two charities on behalf of the Women’s Club.

She, along with fellow resident Shirley Ebersole, are part of the club’s Home Life Committee. The scope of this committee includes donating magazines to area hospitals and doctors’ offices and collecting old cell phones and eyeglasses.

The club has an additional 25 members living at Charlestown and has recently moved its meetings to the retirement community.

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Caption for photo: Madeline Eckstein is seen with shuttle driver Bill Fries, who assists her in delivering stuffed animals to recipient charities (photo by Dave Schuch).

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