This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Aspiring Eagle Scout Collected Hundreds of Teddy Bears For Charity

Simley High School sophomore Ian Quinn plans to distribute the bears to children affected by domestic abuse or other traumatic situations.

Ask for teddy bear donations in Inver Grove Heights schools, and you’ll find out fairly quickly that there is no shortage of generosity — or those loveable, cuddly toys — in Inver Grove Heights.

It's a lesson that Boy Scout and Simley High School student Ian Quinn learned while completing a community service project to earn his Eagle Scout status. Quinn posted signs at Simley and the Inver Grove Heights Middle School. Within a week and a half, he gathered over 500 bears — more than five times the number of stuffed animals he set out to collect.

With help from volunteers, Ian plans to drop them off at the Inver Grove Heights Police Department. With help from the department, the teddy bears will be distributed to children affected by domestic abuse or other traumatizing situations.

Find out what's happening in Inver Grove Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“He only needed to collect between 50-100 stuffed animals because that is what the Inver Grove Heights Police Department thought they could use,” said Quinn's mother, Sue Quinn. “The kids from Simley High were very generous, and he collected a lot more than the IGH PD [Inver Grove Heights Police Department] can use.”

Quinn plans to give the extra bears to other other police departments in the area, including South St. Paul and West St. Paul.

Find out what's happening in Inver Grove Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Some of the teddy bears were new, with the tags still attached, while others were gently used, Quinn said. A few needed to be spot-cleaned, and a few had to be discarded because of missing parts or other damage. Quinn, mindful of the young children who will receive the bears, determined which ones to keep.

“I feel that they’ll be happy when they get to them,” he said. “It’s sad that they [children affected by domestic crises] need to get them, but I’ll be happy for them.”

The teddy bears will become a source of comfort to children affected by a wide range of stressful, traumatic situations, including domestic abuse victims, children who lost their home in a fire or children whose parents have died.

“It gives them something to hang on to,” said Quinn.

Inspiration

Quinn stumbled across inspiration for his Eagle Scout service project while he was cleaning his room last fall, Sue Quinn said. Sorting through his toys, he found plenty that he felt he could give away.

Quinn called his brother, Keegan,  an Eagle Scout and a police officer in Red Wing. Keegan suggested that Ian talk to a local police department and consider donating them. After speaking with the St. Paul Police Department to learn more, Ian decided to pursue the project.

Sue Quinn was reluctant to give away some of Ian's teddy bears, but Ian was ready to part with them and brighten someone else’s day.

“I thought they were so cute…some of them went way back…from the [infant] incubator,” she said. “I’m kind of proud — I kept pushing him to do a project for the church, and he kept coming back to this idea."

Following in his Brother’s Footsteps

A member of the Simley football and track teams and Robotics Club, Quinn has been involved with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts for much of his life. He looks forward to achieving the Eagle Scout rank – the program’s highest honor – and plans to celebrate the award with a special ceremony and “a big party.”

“I’m kind of excited and sad – because it’s almost over,” said Quinn, referring to the fact that Boys Scouts are only allowed to remain in the program until their eighteenth year.

According to Ian’s mother, he has to write a plan and a review of his Eagle Scout project. After that, Quinn needs just one more merit badge and a board review before he attains Eagle Scout status.

“Only two percent of scouts that start off as Cubs end up as Eagle Scouts,” said Sue Quinn.

“I think it will be pretty easy,” Quinn said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Inver Grove Heights