Engaged couple asks for toys for sick children instead of wedding gifts
It’s not every day that an engaged couple asks for a bunch of children’s toys as wedding gifts. But that’s exactly what Kristin Klingshirn, a host on Atlanta’s popular morning radio show “The Bert Show,” and her fiancé Bart Mattingly have done.
They decided to dedicate their wedding registry to Bert’s Big Adventure (BBA), a non-profit that provides an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World for chronically or terminal ill children and their families.
“We realized after 10 years together, we pretty much have everything we need,” Klingshirn said in a video announcing their idea about a month ago. Instead of asking for pots and pans and fancy china, the couple took kids from BBA to help them register for dozens of toys.
Since then, Klingshirn and Mattingly have gotten delivery after delivery of toys to their home — 3,270 as of Tuesday night, according to Klingshirn’s Facebook page. They’ve opened each and every gift during their “box opening parties,” which they stream on Facebook Live for fans to join in.
During Monday night’s party, Klingshirn said she plans to keep adding to the registry. “To see these families and to see these kids, and what they overcome, and the joy with which they live their lives … its just a really beautiful thing to witness.”
Klingshirn explained in the video that the donated toys are given to the children after they return home from the annual Disney World trip each year.
Extra gifts will be used for the Fairy Godparent program, which has volunteers deliver toys to BBA kids when they have to go to the hospital. The couple also put gifts for children’s parents on their registry.
After 13 rounds of opening packages, Klingshirn and Mattingly still have two bedrooms filled with toys. It’s safe to say they’ll be having a few more parties on Facebook — and bringing a lot more smiles to children’s faces.
