The Barriere and District Chamber of Commerce (BCOC) has received a very unique donation from a local family to honour their mother who cherished her collectible Beanie Babies.
Lianne Hamblin is the office administrator for the chamber and said she is "touched and thrilled by a donation that will give back to the community" and explained the donation to the Barriere Star / Journal on Monday, Dec. 2.
"The chamber was contacted by the daughter of a lady in regards to over 500 Beanie Babies that were collected by her mother. Her mother has passed away, and her husband and family wanted her much loved collection of Beanie Babies to go towards something that mattered and would bring joy to others," said Hamblin.
She said the BCOC board of directors soon realized the collection was in "pristine condition" and "like new" with the ID tags still attached and gave some thought as to how these beautiful stuffy collectibles could best benefit the community during the holiday season.
"The board decided that we would donate some of the Beanie Babies to the 'Stuff the Cruiser' event, coming up on December 5, 2024. Those donations from the 'Stuff the Cruiser 'event would then be distributed to different children's events as gifts, such as 'Breakfast with Santa' and the Community Christmas Dinner for example," said Hamblin. "Due to the sheer volume of Beanie Babies in our possession, we also decided to sell some of the Beanie Babies and donate all proceeds to various local charities in the donor's memory."
There are so many Beanie Babies in bins and boxes, in a variety of sizes and specific collections grouped together to choose from.The stuffy collectibles are on display at the chamber office in Barriere and being sold right now with funds being used to benefit families in the valley over Christmas and to fulfill carrying out the final wishes of the family in remembrance of their beloved wife, mother and grandmother.
You can drop by the chamber office during business hours to do some Beanie Baby shopping or contact Lianne Hamblin via email at: bcoc@telus.net or call the BCOC office at: 250-672-9221
