Sask. mom continues son's toy donation tradition after his death
A Saskatchewan mother is turning her grief into support for the community's most vulnerable and help for other children this Christmas.
Paula Beeching's son Hunter, 16, died in a car crash in June. He was born in 2003 in Gander, N.L., before the family moved to Saskatchewan and settled in Waldeck.
Ever since he was little, Hunter was thinking about others, Beeching said.
"He was a very caring and loving man," she said. "He always thought of everyone before himself and just wanted to make you smile, make you happy."
To honour his memory, Beeching is hosting a toy drive and silent auction in his honour on Oct. 17. The toys will go toward a program he helped for almost a decade.
"He used to anonymously give toys to the Salvation Army every Christmas since he was six," Beeching said. Caring about others was something Beeching tried to instill in her son from when he was little.
"He would take his allowance and go to Walmart or wherever he wanted to go and just buy some toys and just donate them to the Christmas toy drive," she said. "I figured in his memory, [I'd] do it this year. "
Beeching posted about the idea on Facebook and the response was incredible, she said. People from Saskatoon, Fort McMurray and beyond have reached out and given donations of toys, gift cards and money for the drive — and the event hasn't even happened yet, she said.
It's just incredible to know that the community supports me and supports the memory of Hunter. - Paula Beeching
"It's just overwhelming," Beeching said. "My husband and I are so grateful that people remember. The people that knew him are passing it on and paying it forward, just like he would have done if he was still alive.
"It's just incredible to know that the community supports me and supports the memory of Hunter."
Beeching said she hopes people continue to support their local community organizations now and into the Christmas season as people are hit hard by the pandemic.
Beeching said Hunter would have been "overjoyed" at the project.
"Hunter was a really old soul," she said. "Paying it forward and giving it back was just the right thing to do."
It's been a tough year for Beeching, but the toy drive and silent auction gives her something to focus on, she said.
"It's giving me some hope. And I think that it's going to be an annual thing. I was starting a foundation called the Hunter Cares Foundation, and I think it is maybe an annual thing in his honour."
People wanting to help or support can reach out to Beeching on her Facebook page as she doesn't have a website set up yet.
