A helping hand for Florida

EDMONDS - Bill Brayer, 74, spends a lot of his time matching elderly people with wheelchairs, walkers and other equipment.

Now, the organization he leads is targeting a younger crowd.

The group, MS Helping Hands of Edmonds, is collecting used and new stuffed animals for children in central Florida, an area ravaged by tornadoes last Friday. So far - through word of mouth and the media - the nonprofit group has collected roughly 1,000 toys, Brayer said.

By the end of next week, Brayer hopes the boxes of toys stacked in his office will be on their way to Florida.

"Someone has to think of the children," said Brayer, the president of MS Helping Hands.

The carnage reminds Brayer of the destruction hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused on the Gulf Coast in 2005. In the aftermath of the hurricanes, MS Helping Hands sent more than 22,000 stuffed animals to child survivors.

"Now this storm hit, these tornadoes, and I said, 'Here we go again,' " Brayer said. "We're going to help these people."

The tornadoes in Florida left 20 people dead, destroyed more than 1,300 homes and caused more than $68 million in damage over a three-county area, according to The Associated Press.

Brayer is expecting people to drop off more toys at his office during the next couple of weeks. He's hoping to find someone who's willing to pay to have the toys shipped to Florida. It cost his group about $700 to send a truckload of toys to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, he said.

He's also seeking a church, business or charity in Florida that could distribute the stuffed animals to children who need them.

Other service organizations are already providing food, shelter and financial assistance to disaster victims. The American Red Cross Snohomish County Chapter has six workers in Florida assisting in the relief effort, said Chuck Morrison, the chapter's executive director.

However, the American Red Cross doesn't focus on distributing toys, and the organization rarely accepts used donations, Morrison said.

Brayer's group is providing a valuable service, he said.

"It sounds like they know what they're doing, and that they've got it carefully thought out," Morrison said.

MS Helping Hands is a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to people who have multiple sclerosis.

The nonprofit's Donor Closet program refurbishes used wheelchairs, walkers, scooters and other pieces of equipment for those who need them.

The effort to deliver the stuffed animals is a chance to help out children, Brayer said.

"Give them a toy or a doll, it doesn't take much to make kids happy," he said.

Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.