In the 1980’s, Dr. Jerry Martin’s wife, Brunella, had a serious thing for Beanie Babies. As in, seriously way too many of them to carry forward into a new century. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened.
As 2013 came to a close and the family’s beanie population still had not dwindled, Dr. Jerry hatched a plan to begin to thin the herd. That Christmas, the long-time friend of Laurie Singer and her husband hauled a large pack of “babies” to his office, Antelope Valley Optometric Center in Lancaster. He sold them to his patients for $5 each, which included a raffle ticket for a chance to win a fully decorated Christmas tree, and raised nearly $500.
And here’s where you can see why Dr. Jerry was once named Humanitarian of the Year by the American Red Cross: he matched that $500, and donated the resulting $1,000 to the Jacob Singer Endowment for Child Life at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in memory of a baby he never met – Laurie and Bob’s infant son Jacob – to help babies and children he will never know.
This past Christmas, he sold more of the beanie population, and donated another $500 to the same fund.
Really, people are good. We see that every day. And we are grateful. Oh, and if you need an optometrist – or a beanie baby – Dr. Jerry’s practice has been voted Antelope Valley’s Best Optometrists for 8 years running.
In the 1980’s, Dr. Jerry Martin’s wife, Brunella, had a serious thing for Beanie Babies. As in, seriously way too many of them to carry forward into a new century. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened.
As 2013 came to a close and the family’s beanie population still had not dwindled, Dr. Jerry hatched a plan to begin to thin the herd. That Christmas, the long-time friend of Laurie Singer and her husband hauled a large pack of “babies” to his office, Antelope Valley Optometric Center in Lancaster. He sold them to his patients for $5 each, which included a raffle ticket for a chance to win a fully decorated Christmas tree, and raised nearly $500.
And here’s where you can see why Dr. Jerry was once named Humanitarian of the Year by the American Red Cross: he matched that $500, and donated the resulting $1,000 to the Jacob Singer Endowment for Child Life at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in memory of a baby he never met – Laurie and Bob’s infant son Jacob – to help babies and children he will never know.
This past Christmas, he sold more of the beanie population, and donated another $500 to the same fund.
Really, people are good. We see that every day. And we are grateful. Oh, and if you need an optometrist – or a beanie baby – Dr. Jerry’s practice has been voted Antelope Valley’s Best Optometrists for 8 years running.
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