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| KEVIN'S BIRTHDAY BEAR SURPRISE! September 10th 2005 - Sydney Australia By Missferal |
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| Imagine not being well. Imagine not being in your own surroundings, often without your own family for hours at a time or your parents doing rotating shifts so someone ‘can’ be with you. Imagine that you don’t have access to your own space, or your own toys and very few (If any) of your friends. Those very children were the focus of the ‘teddy bear’ drive. Now imagine being able to share the fear, the worry and all the nasty scary stuff with someone, who is there just for you, yours alone to cuddle and confide in. To cry on and snuggle with, someone who loves you unconditionally and wont tell a soul your secrets, yours to fall in love with and TAKE home with you when (or even if) you are allowed to leave and go home. And at the same time you could do something that would make Kevin feel good inside and put a huge smile on his handsome face too. This was a project that the OIKSFC had to be a part of, and we were truly delighted that many of Kevin’s fans both members and non members wanted to be a part of it too. |
| When the original call for bears went out to the fan club members and then to lists, forums, friends and contacts, we had set our expectations at about 100 bears and set our wishes a little higher at two hundred. Then they started to arrive. Over the months I watched the original small group of bears grow, and grow and GROW. Every shade of brown, gold, honey, toffee, caramel, sand, cream, white and grey began to come in. Then came the multi hued members of the bear family. We had every shade of pink, blue, yellow, orange, black, green, purple, big, small, HUGE and teeny. There were Panda’s, Polars, Grizzly bears, we had Cheer leaders, school boys, Ships captains, Surfer girls, teachers, golfers, artist bears, they came sitting, laying, standing, you name it we had it. I have to say there were quite a few bears that I could have had happily stay in my little house. They started out sitting on the queen size bed in the spare room, it didn’t take long for the bed to become a little crowded and they spilled over to the bookcase, and chair, they then became multi layered on the bed and then the floor. The plight of these children had obviously touched many peoples hearts and it became evident that the warmth and healing properties of a teddy hug was well known as the generosity of people was amazing. Our new friends came in ones twos and threes per box or bag, they arrived by car, post, air and even by sea. A finally count came in at 411, (yes over 400, you did read it right) with thirty countries represented. Many of the donors were not members of the fan club and were as much a surprise to us as some of the countries the bears emigrated from. Two of our very own very generous OIKSFC members even went so far as to send over 70 beary cute faces between them. This was truly staggering and very appreciated. A very special heart felt thank you to you both you know who you are.! The bears were then all given seat allocations for transport to the convention. This in itself was a feat of some marvel. How do you transport 400+ bears in 12 huge bags to a convention over an hour away all in one go? You send out an SOS to friends and fans anyone with time and access to a van or truck, who is willing to lend a hand for a good cause. Such was the case for the Sydney leg of this convention weekend and a young lady named Bec answered our call. Thank you so much Bec for all your invaluable help. So finally the time came for the actual presentation. Our centre piece gift was an 18 inch Golfing teddy bear complete with bag, clubs and dressed to thrill in the height of golfing fashion. His name was “Birdie” he was sent to us by our much loved but absent friend MissB. As a US member of the main OIKSFC team she sent along her representative which was then our gift to Kevin. When Stripe presented the bear to Kevin and he unwrapped it that was the signal for the screens to be moved away, the sheets removed and our BEARY beautiful family of treasures exposed to Kevin’s curious and then shocked eyes. The room itself was not overly large being just smaller than a standard sized basketball court, so it was clear to him just how many bears there were all looking excitedly right back at Kevin. To quote Kevin, "Oh my GOD". His eyes widened and his jaw dropped, he looked at Stripe and back to the bears, before jokingly asking, "They are not all for me are they?"' Stripe went on to explain that his fans from all around the world had sent them in to us to help celebrate his birthday and bring a little joy to a multitude of sick and in some cases terminally ill children at the same time. Kevin was just stunned at the generosity of his fans. Kevin eagerly made his way to the back of the room. There he promptly dived right into the pile of bears taking his seat in the middle and looking around at the 400 cheery faces surrounding him. He was then also presented with a very special birthday card that had every donors name and country clearly printed so he would be able to see just who and from where all these wonderful bears had come. While he sat among the bears taking in the enormity of this wonderful occasion, Kevin shook his head saying over and over, “This is amazing, this makes me so happy, incredible”, he kept saying. “They (the fans) all know this is going to the hospital right?”, Kevin asked once more just to be sure. “Amazing!”, he repeated when we explained how the “Donate A Bear” campaign had been set in motion. YOUR generosity was something Kevin was really very proud of. It’s also something YOU can be proud of too. After a few photos Kevin took a wander through the bears admiring one after the other, looking at where they came from and of course answering a few questions from fans watching and then posing for more photo’s. He kept saying how amazing this was and how generous his fans were with the occasional ‘Wow look at this guy’ thrown in as well, whenever a particular bear really caught his eye. Finally our time was over it was time to pack up the bears for transport home So we began the long process of packing our now weary exhausted bears. A few hands pitched in to help and once more the bears were put in their temporary carry bags and taken back down the two flights of stairs and stacked into the van to be taken home. The bears would then be taken to the hospital on the 24th September, Kevin’s actual birthday and presented in Kevin’s name on behalf of his fans and his fan club. It is thanks to YOU that over 400 bears will give untold pleasure and comfort to these brave children who so need a hug and a friend to help them get through the times ahead. And everyone knows how wonderful a hug from a loving teddy can be! |
| View of all the bears in Stripe's lounge room before the big event ! |
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| Kevin opening his special birthday gift A golfing bear courtesy of Miss B |
| Stripe explaining to Kevin that all his fans wanted to join in on the birthday celebrations |
| Kevin looking shocked and stunned as the bears were finally unveiled. |
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| Still facinated by the amount of bears. |
| Checking the other side as well |
| Saying again how awesome this all was |
| AUSTRALIA Alison & Jessica – Greenwood Andrew & Stacey – Heckenberg Baker Boys – Sydney Chris & Kirsten Thompson – Melbourne Daisy – Cootamundra Dinky Di – Darwin Alison & Jenna Bramham – Queensland Fredricks Family – Coonawarra Grace – Tamworth Halliday Family – Sefton Isabelle – Croydon James & Stella – Penrith Jen - Gold Coast Jessica – Inala Jessica J – Perth Julie & Family – Melbourne Lainie – Canberra Leslie & Tommy – Bourke Lisa – Hobart Loretta – Chisholm Louise & Gillian – Campbelltown Lynette T - Alice Springs Mac – Tamworth Maria S – Sydney Mark - West Pymble Megan & Terry – Adelaide Nagel Family – Maroochydore Philip & Brian – Kings Cross Rachel & Jasmine – Melbourne Renee & Phil Dixon – Sydney Richard & Louise – Port Macquarie Robyn – Sydney Sharron – Foster April – Wollongong SorboFan4Eva - Bondi S & S Security – Sydney The Girls at the Lunchbox – San Souci Stripe - Sydney Vikky – Newcastle Yvonne W – Sydney Wilma – Greenacre Belinda – Broome Brenna - Canberra Debbie & Sandra – Melbourne Sarah – Swansea Feral – Sydney N Hunter – Sydney Quikcopy – Sydney Jemima – Yass ROMANIA Patsy - Timisoara |
| BERMUDA Linus Gow – Hamilton Tylena - Hamilton Tricules – Hamilton BRAZIL Mara – Sao Paulo FRANCE Yvette - Toulouse Doriane – Albertville HUNGARY Maria T –Miskolc SLOVAKIA Magna – Bratislava Koreena - Kosice ITALY Aurora - Bergamo Bruna - Bergamo Paola - Poggiibonsi Flora - Firenze Carla - Rome CANADA Paul & Trevor – Burnaby The Rogers Family – Quebec ENGLAND Jenny - Nottingham Lindsay F – Kent Mary Ann – Bristol Marie – Sheffield Sian – Leeds Orommie - Nottinghamshire The Professor – Oxford Chimera –WestonSupermare Tracie T - Dorset CHINA Kim Luck – Ningbo DENMARK Kirsten – Copenhagen GERMANY Robin & Sanne - Lehrte Sabina - Munich Jana - Leipzig Karl & Hannah - Berlin Gerda & Manuella - Munich Augustas & Claudia B - Lubeck |
| RUSSIA Linda – Kazan SCOTLAND Jo – Edinburgh Leesa – Dundee City Lesley – Inverell Lucy – Glasgow ARGENTINA Ortiz – Buenos Aires SPAIN Angela – Madrid Elena – Barcelona WALES Gwynth – Cardiff |
| EGYPT Hancy – Cairo FIJI Phillipa – Suva FINLAND Sven & Lars - Helsinki MALAYSIA Katz – Taiping ROMANIA Patsy - Timisoara |
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| UNITED STATES Aquas56 (Judy) – Ohio Amanda - Knome Barbara – Kansas City Beth – Seattle Benjamin & Joanne – Idaho Birgit – Las Vegas Byron & Beth – Alabama Ashley, Jacob & Baby Sam – Bay City Bree – North Carolina Carol F – Virginia Drom Lover – Fort Payne Ernie & Mom – Lincoln Hercies Girl – Alexandria Karen – Chicago Karlisa Jordon - Kansas Lilly – Cleveland Lynn – Petersburg Maria F –Atascadero Mary P – Apple Valley Carmen – California Miss B – New Hampshire Miss Kitty – Walnut Grove Rayhana – Florida Rhades Alpha – Masachusetts Rhonda - Georgia Sharon – Little Rock Stargazer – California Sorbo Jayne – New York Tara Brewer – Kansas Themis - Nashville Tulah & Gunter – Nevada Alexandra – Ashland Sparky – Florida Lester & Jenny – Poconos |
| BULGARIA Tsvetelina S – Bulgaria NEW ZEALAND Bec – Bethels Debbie – Auckland John – Otaki Lynette K – Christchurch Starchild – Auckland TURKEY Portia - Kasyseri |
| ICELAND Kirsten B – Reykjavik Pauline & Pierre – Selfos JAPAN Natasha –Tokyo GREECE Michael – Athens Maria - Attica AUSTRIA Maria – Vienna (sadly has now passed away) |
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| LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS |
| On behalf of the Childrens Hospital Westmead, Kevin and the OIKSFC team we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who spent time and money to make this project the success it was. Due to Australian Media laws governing the use of childrens photos on the internet and the OIKSFC legal arrangement with the hospital we are unable to publish photos of Kevin with the patients he visited on our web site or elsewhere on the internet. If you wish to see those you can join the Fan Club and get the newsletter - Issue #13 |
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