LAURINBURG — After the unexpected death of her grandson, Starr Wethington vowed to donate to Toys for Tots every year in his memory.

Nicholas Ward passed away last year at 11 months old from heart failure, which followed his diagnosis with a brain injury that occurred for unknown reasons.

To honor the memory of the little boy who didn’t live to see his first birthday or celebrate Christmas, Wethington and her family decided to give back to the community.

“I was thinking of something I could do in remembrance of him,” she said.

She decided to donate a toy to a child through Toys for Tots every year in honor of Nicholas, each year purchasing a toy for a child the age her grandson would be.

“He would have been two and a half this year so I decided to buy something age appropriate for how old he would be,” she said. “I want to donate every year.

Wethington dropped off a Bilingual Talking Activity Book to the Blues Farm Estates and Plaza Terrace Apartments, which is hosting a toy drive, last week.

“What made me choose Toys for Tots is I’ve been racking my brain and trying to find an organization that was reputable and that I could trust,” she said. “I’ll definitely stick with them.”

She selected Toys for Tots sfter seeing advertisements at Bojangles and Honda.

“It’s local and going to a child here in town, which is what made want to donate,” she said.

Wethington hopes that the community will rally around the charity.

“I would like to try to start something to get the community involved so if anyone wanted to donate a toy in his memory they could drop off it off in honor of him,” she said.

Starr Wethington donated a toy to Toys for Tots in honor of her deceased grandson.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_IMG_9828.jpgStarr Wethington donated a toy to Toys for Tots in honor of her deceased grandson.

By Abby Hackmann

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Abby Hackmann can be reached at 910-506-3171.