"When I was a
boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look
for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day,
especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother’s words, and I am
always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many
caring people in this world."
-- Mister Rogers
In this season of love and hope, Steiffgal wishes to share a
remarkable and inspirational story - which of course has a Steiff connection!
It goes without saying that you have heard of the horror that visited the Sandy
Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, USA. Come hear what two Steiff
superfans did when they heard the news that 26 innocents were killed in this unprecedented
school shooting.
Steiffgal: Please tell us your names, where you live, and a little bit about yourself?
Jamie Prata-Gomes: My name is Jamie Prata-Gomes and my
husband is Adam Gomes. We live in East Freetown, MA. Adam spends
most of his time working in IT, specifically network security. Due to my
current health issues, I am unable to work right now. I spend my days caring
for our dachshunds and cats, reading, staying current on IT industry advances,
helping to run South Coast Innovator Labs, and loving my stuffy collection!
Adam and I enjoy seeking out Steiff collectibles and other stuffies any way we
can when we have the time.
Steiffgal: Can you
tell us about your interest in Steiff?
Jamie: My interest in Steiff began very
young. I've always loved and collected stuffed animals and knew of Steiff from
as far back as I can remember. When I was a child, finances were tight. It was
much easier for my family to find deals on other brands of stuffed animals and
I never went without. Fast forward a few
years, and I hit a very rough patch and I lost my beloved mother and adoptive
father. We also had some house issues and I was diagnosed with a rare
interstitial lung disease; today I am in chemotherapy for it. Adam was very supportive and asked me to find
a new stuffy I wanted and we would go buy it. On a whim, I looked up Steiff online
and found that the warehouse was a few towns over in Raynham, MA and they had a
small store right there! We took the short drive to Raynham and entered one of
the happiest places on earth! I went
back to the store weekly and bought many wonderful items that helped me through
a difficult time and has continued to bring a lot of happiness to me and to
Adam. Steiffgal: Tell us how you heard about the shootings in Newtown, which took place on Friday morning, December 14th.
Jamie: Because of my lung condition and treatment, I had been
really sick Thursday night. As a result, I stayed in bed and napped most of
Friday. Adam was working from home, but he hadn't had the television or
radio on. Around 3 PM, I was feeling better and I got up to shower and
dress. I noticed that a friend sent a message on Facebook about a tragedy
in Newtown, CT. My maternal grandfather was born and raised a few towns
away. I have many fond memories of visiting him when I was a small child, and
visiting his grave and the general area with my mother in later years. All of this was in my mind when Adam and I ran to turn on the
television. When we saw the news accounts, our hearts just broke and I
actually started crying. Adam was speechless and I was so lost that I was
shaking. I just kept thinking, "These poor children. This poor
community. Things like this don't happen in New England. These poor
children."
Steiffgal: What
happened next?
Jamie: I realized I
had grabbed one of my stuffed animals, and was holding her tight like I do so
much. That's when it hit me: Anytime something bad happens in my
life, I miss my lost loved ones, or I just don't feel well, I grab one of my
stuffies. I can't even begin to imagine
losing a child or being a child in this situation. These children who
have just survived the horror of what happened in their school and community
need something to hold on to. They need stuffed friend to hug while they
try to process what has happened, while they try to grieve, while they try to
make sense of this, and while they try to find a new normal.
Steiffgal: And
apparently you immediately got to work in making that happen. Tell us how.
Jamie: I started searching through my collection for stuffed
toys that still are still new and have the tags and such and that I thought
children aged kindergarten through fourth grade would enjoy. In a few
minutes I had gathered about 50 such stuffed toys from my collection.
Poor Adam was having a hard time keeping up with my thoughts and I had
asked him to try to find out where we could bring them in Newtown, CT... that
night! He talked me out of that one because it would take about 3 hours
just to get there. Adam made a lot of phone calls and finally reached the
Newtown police department. They thanked us and asked us to call back in
the morning for directions on where we could drop off the stuffed toys. I
was already on to a new evolution of the plan. I had heard on the news
that there were approximately 600 students at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
I decided we should reach out to anyone we could get a hold of and ask
them to help us gather up 600 new or like new stuffed toys for us to drive to
Newtown, CT on Saturday. At this point, it was already 5:30 PM on Friday and I
didn't know if we'd even come close to our goal but I wasn't going to stop
until we brought as many stuffies as possible to those children.
Steiffgal: This truly
was a team effort between you and Adam.
Jamie: Yes, Adam, who
had worked all day, was right there making phone calls, organizing my thoughts,
making plans for the trip, and budgeting our money to buy as many stuffies as
we could. At his suggestion, we both started posting on our Facebook
pages to try to reach as many people as possible. We weren't sure we
would be able to reach anyone: it was a Friday evening, Hanukkah, and so
close to Christmas. We knew a lot of people would be shopping and
celebrating the holidays. Many friends and family members did see our
posts on Facebook, our text messages, and our phone numbers on their caller
IDs. Many, many wonderful people donated new stuffed animals and many handed
us money or sent money to our PayPal account and asked us to buy stuffed
animals from them.
Steiffgal: Tell us
how you managed to get 600 stuffies to bring to Newtown.
Jamie: Adam and I
immediately set out to buy stuffed animals. We decided to start at Kohl's
(a major US department store) because they have the "Kohl's Cares For
Kids" stuffed animals. Our reasoning was that we could buy a
lot of stuffed animals for $5 each, the proceeds from those stuffed animals go
to children's charities, and they are really cute. We ended up buying
just about all of the Kohl's Cares stuffed animals in Taunton, MA, which is
near our hometown. Our dear friends met at another local Kohl's. We
bought most of the stuffies from that store as well. The Managers at each
Kohl's looked for extra stock to give us, cleared the way for us to check out
quickly so we could do as much as possible, and promised to spread the word
about what we were doing to encourage others to reach out to Newtown and help
anyway possible. At that point, we had reached close to 300 stuffed
animals! Adam's parents were also
involved in our efforts; they had gone to a Kohl's in their area bought most of
their Kohl's Cares stuffies. They also went
to another store and bought more stuffed animals. Then we headed off to Ocean
State Job Lot (a New England based discount store) where we bought about 100
more stuffies. By 11PM on Friday night - just 8 hours of first hearing of
the news - we had reached almost 500 stuffed toys, thanks to our wonderful
friends and family members, and some wonderful strangers! Late Friday
night, we started planning for the trip to Newtown in the morning.
Steiffgal: Then it
was time to hit the road.
Jamie: Yes. At 7 AM
on Saturday, we loaded up our SUV and headed to Newtown. We stopped in Providence, RI to pick up
donations that had come available overnight.
We also stopped at another Ocean State Job Lot on our way and bought another
100 stuffed animals to meet our goal. After about 3 hours of driving and a few stops
we reached Newtown, CT. I wasn't feeling all that well, but we were on a mission and nothing would stop me from getting those stuffies to the children of Newtown. Adam had been in touch with the Newtown Police
Department and the Newtown Social Services people during our trip out there and
we were welcomed into the police department/social services building.
Steiffgal: What
happened when you arrived in Newtown?
Jamie: Many people
came to our aid and unloaded all of the 600 stuffed toys from our truck.
There were many thank you wishes, moist eyes, and hugs from those
grieving community members. We
just wanted to get these stuffed friends to the children as quickly as possible
because they need something to hold on to and hug. The children need to
know that there are so many people who care and want them to have a childhood
in spite of this unimaginable tragedy.
We didn't stay long because there was a lot of chaos as
everyone tried to get through the shock of what had happened the day before and
figure out what to do for his or her community next. Adam and I didn't
want to be in the way. We did take a few moments to view the town as we
were leaving it - I hadn't been to the area in over 5 years and Adam had been
through the area, but never to the area. It was a difficult ride home because Adam and
I wanted to do more, but at least the children have these stuffed toys to hug.
We will continue to stay in contact with Newtown, CT to offer whatever
support we can.
Steiffgal: You are
both truly heroes. If other people want
to contribute, how can they do so?
Jamie: Probably the
best way is through a donation drive by the United Way and the Newtown Savings
Bank. Click here to learn more.
Steiffgal: Your story
is awe-inspiring. Thank you from all of
us for your kindness.
Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.