Avon's Emergency Care Center Receives 'Ben's Bears' Donation

Avon's EMH employees were the happy recipients of a large donation from “Ben’s Bears” last week, just in time for Christmas.

Ben Thorne, a fourth-grader at Heritage South Elementary School in Avon, began collecting Bears in lieu of birthday presents in September. Bears morphed into stuffed animals and Ben and his family made a donation of 62 new stuffed animals to Fairview Hospital on Oct. 17.

The Thornes, including parents Erin and John an siblings Adam, 7 and Jack, 12, decided to continue the collection into the holiday season and expanded collection spots to include numerous locations on Cleveland’s west side.

Last week Ben’s father John Thorne dropped off more stuffed animals, including a donation at EMH Avon Emergency Care Center.

“When the bears were dropped off by John Thorne, our staff moved an unused cabinet between the two pediatric emergency bays in our ER and filled them with the bears,” EMH spokesperson Kristen Davis said. “The staff is affectionately calling the cabinet the ‘Christmas Closet,’ so when kids come into the ER they can open up the doors and select the bear they would like.”

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