Bringing teddy bears to sick kids

By Thomas Nelson, tnelson@charlescitypress.com

It is the giving season and one Charles City man has continued that tradition at a hospital in Minnesota.

Michael Jacobson gave 20 teddy bears to kids at the pediatric unit of St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, because he had been given a teddy bear when he was there as a child.

“I was there for heart surgery when I was very, very young,” Jacobson said about the hospital that is part of the Mayo Clinic system. “A couple came in and brought me a teddy bear.”

He said he didn’t remember getting the teddy bear when he received it because of his age, but he later learned of the gift and it inspired him to pay it forward because of how happy it made it him feel.

“I wanted to help out and give out a teddy to a kid that really needs its, and they let me do it,” Jacobson said. “Kmart helped me donate a couple of them.”

Of the 20 toy bears that Jacobson gave out, six came from Kmart. “I bought the rest of them,” he said.

He bought them from different stores, and delivered them to St. Marys himself.

“We really didn’t get to hand them out to the kids,” Jacobson said. “We gave them to the front desk,” to be handed out with the kid’s parents present.

This isn’t his first time delivering teddy bears to kids in the hospital. A few years ago he made a similar gift, but this time he increased the number of bears.

Jacobson has stuck to the pediatric center in St. Marys because that’s where he stayed.

“I was there from the day I was born until I was 1,” Jacobson said. “I go back every year or two for check-ups.”

Charles City residents can recognize Jacobson from O’Reilly Auto Parts, where he works.

“I wanted to give back,” Jacobson said. “I got one when I was younger, … I want to give.”