By Dan Cherry
The Daily Telegram (Adrian)
ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) -- An avid toy collector's love of giving lives on this Christmas season, four months after he lost his battle against cancer.
Bob Hill of Adrian, who died Aug. 17, collected hundreds of toys as a hobby. His friend, Sandy Hill of Adrian -- whose last name is coincidentally the same as Bob's -- is distributing those items to homeless children in the community and the Catherine Cobb Domestic Violence Shelter in Adrian.
Sandy Hill, who said she was Bob's best friend of 15 years and later caretaker after he became ill earlier this year, said she wanted to give the toys to children in need this season.
"If anyone needed anything, he was there for you," Hill said of Bob. "He had such a giving heart and I wanted it to continue this Christmas."
Hill enlisted the help of Beth McCullough, homeless liaison at Adrian Public Schools, and the collision repair class at the Lenawee Intermediate School District Tech Center to help with the project.
Hill had the collision repair class decorate her red pickup like a Santa sleigh, complete with an oversized hat and lights, to bring the spirit of Christmas alive as the gifts were prepared for delivery.
McCullough said she is grateful for Sandy Hill carrying on Bob's legacy by donating the toys.
"It's a beautiful story that after this man has passed, his spirit of giving and his love for toys lives on," McCullough said.
Chris Harvey, collision repair instructor at the Tech Center, said students are tasked yearly to do community projects as part of state education guidelines.
"Sandy called and asked if we could help out with decorating her truck," Harvey said. "We were glad to give up shop space to do this project."
Harvey said he is pleased with his students' spirit of giving, not only with the pickup decorating project, but also with a recent canned food drive for the Salvation Army, where the center collected 3,946 canned goods, 2,025 of that from his class alone.
Because Bob collected mostly toys geared for boys, such as toy cars and sports memorabilia, Sandy Hill added girls items -- as well as coloring books and crayons -- enough to put together 150 gifts.
The toys were delivered recently to the Catherine Cobb shelter in Adrian. Leslie Conrad, program supervisor at the shelter, said the gifts will be presented to the children in the coming days, and some gifts will be saved for those who will come to stay at the shelter over Christmas.
"We are thrilled by this donation," Conrad said. "It's been a long year for many of these kids, and to be able to bring a little bit of happiness to them this month is wonderful.
"We couldn't have done it without people like Sandy," Conrad said.
Hill also credits her daughter-in-law Alecia Hill and friend Karen Collins for their help in sorting and selecting age-appropriate gifts for the children.
"Everyone has been so helpful in helping Bob's spirit live on," she said.
Published: Wed, Dec 22, 2010
