This is Keian Blundell’s dream.
The young boy wanted to collect as many toys as possible for kids at BC Children’s Hospital who won’t make it home for the season.
Four Christmas’s later, his legacy continues.
On Wednesday, Keian’s family was at the Burnaby RCMP detachment to collect a bounty of toys - 312 in all - which were raised by members of the force for children at the hospital.
“To know there are kids that are in there, they’re going through a difficult time, and anything that can bring a smile to their face is definitely worth it,” said RCMP Const. Sam Bowen, who led the efforts at the Burnaby detachment.
While there were smiles all around as the family and detachment members mingled and looked through the toys Wednesday, the day is clearly bittersweet for both.
Keian passed away two years ago on Jan. 1 2014, after battling cancer.
Just a few months before, he was made an honorary member of Troop 15 and presented with a custom-made red serge.
Bowen, who has a daughter himself, said he was touched by Keian’s story and wanted to help and make sure the family knows the young boy is not forgotten.
“It’s something I think is a great cause,” he said.
Keian was just five years old when he launched his fist toy drive in 2012 because he was able to make it home for Christmas and felt bad for the other children who had to spend their time in the hospital over the holidays.
In his first year, Keian delivered 16 toys to the hospital.
This year, the family will drop off more than 800 toys, bringing the total over the years to more than 2,800.
They’re numbers that make the Blundell family proud of what Keian started and thrilled the local RCMP want to keep his legacy going.
“It means so much,” said his dad Ryan, who added a toy is usually the first thing a child looks to for comfort.
The toys were eventually loaded into vans and dropped off at the hospital.
Both the family and Burnaby RCMP say they’ll be back at it again next year collecting toys for kids at the hospital.
It’s just how Keian would have wanted it.
