Boy Honored for Donating Beanie Baby to Good Cause

At least one group of Los Angeles firefighters marked Memorial Day on Monday by recognizing one of the living.

The honoree was Tim Holmes, a 12-year-old Santa Clarita boy, who gave up one of his prized Beanie Babies to raise money for the families of several firefighters recently killed in the line of duty.

Tim donated his rare Princess Diana Beanie Baby to a raffle of the collectible stuffed animals held last month. The raffle raised about $3,300 for an educational fund to be used by the families.

The ceremony honoring Tim was held at Station 81 in Arleta, which lost two of its firefighters in March in an accidental helicopter crash.

The boy, who officials said suffers from a mild case of cerebral palsy, said he was moved to help out after seeing news accounts of the helicopter crash.

At the ceremony, he met the families of both firefighters Station 81 lost in the crash: paramedics Michael A. Butler, 33, and Eric F. Reiner, 33.

The two men and a colleague were killed March 23 when their helicopter crashed while transporting a 12-year-old girl injured in an auto accident. The girl was also killed.

Another firefighter, Capt. Joseph Dupee, 38, of Santa Clarita, was killed two weeks earlier while fighting a factory blaze in South-Central Los Angeles.

A Glendale firefighter who won Tim’s Beanie Baby at the raffle donated it to Butler’s widow, now six months pregnant.

Firefighters have returned Tim’s generosity by giving him a variety of Fire Department paraphernalia, including a T-shirt that says ‘Property of the Los Angeles Fire Department.”

Capt. Ken Buchan said firefighters at the station wanted to acknowledge the boy’s efforts.

“It’s really great to see the continued support and continued attention to the families who are left without their loved ones,” Buchan said.