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A Brief History of
Big Animals For Little Kids
| In 1996, Bonnie Cannon, inspired by her love for children, decided to contribute her time and organizational skills to do something of value for kids in San Diego. After considering various possibilities, she found something that fit her busy schedule and her sense of adventure. She provided entertainers in animal costumes for the annual “Celebration of Champions” sponsored by Children’s Hospital. She borrowed the costumes, and asked her friends to volunteer a half-day to play with these brave kids who were struggling with cancer. It was an unqualified success! The kids were thrilled by the big goofy animals who were only there to love them. The volunteers were so touched by the experience, they asked to come back again the next year. Bonnie and her group of volunteers have been at every “Celebration of Champions” since. In 1998, Bonnie invited me to dress as the “Love Bear”, a brown bear with a big red heart on it’s chest. I had the most profoundly inspiring day. You cannot imagine the feeling when a small child sees you! I was standing about 30 feet behind a small family, when the youngest boy, about 3 or 4 years old, turned around and spotted me. His eyes lit up and a giant smile came across his face. He yelped, dropped his father’s hand and began running toward me at full gallop. I braced myself as he threw himself into my arms, giggling and grinning. The rest of his group followed, and soon I was covered with kids. It was an awesome experience! At the same event, a teenager came over to me for a hug, and started weeping softly. I let her cry for awhile, and then asked why she was crying. She said she was crying for her brother. “Is he here, I asked?” “No, he died last year. But every year we came to this celebration with him, and this time we came to honor his memory”. With that, we both started bawling, she for her lost brother, me for the generosity of her spirit. I was deeply touched. After the event, I was sitting with the other animals, Steve, Pete, Leslie and Hank, recovering from the heat (It is HOT in those costumes!) and someone said, “ Wouldn’t it be great if we owned these costumes, so we could do this more than once a year?” Wouldn’t it, indeed! A dream was born. Over the next year I often thought about that day. Here was an opportunity to do something that not only benefits the children, but deeply touches and moves the volunteers. Kids are entertained and loved, and volunteers are touched and inspired. I began asking friends if they wanted to be a part of it. I got all yesses! Gail made phone calls, Carol donated a costume, Jerry created a web site for us. Pete and Steve each purchased their own costume. Sharon took photographs. We began doing events. The Joan Kroc Village for Homeless Families, the Polinsky Center, the ChildHelp facility for abused children were our first. Big Animals for Little Kids is growing, and we now have 95 volunteers with new volunteers every event, and a schedule of monthly visits to kids in foster care facilities and homeless shelters. We are a resource for volunteers and children. We supply our volunteers with costumes and party supplies. They supply the love. The kids win, the volunteers win, it’s a beautiful thing! Frank Fernicola,
Founder |
How the Big Animals for Little Kids Impacted the Life of a Child My son received an unexpected visit from the Big Animals for Little Kids while he was in the ICU recovering from brain surgery. Frank Fernicola and the "animals" were doing an event near Children's Hospital when they learned that Adam was in the hospital and decided to stop by. I was at my
son's bedside when I looked up to see a large white rabbit, a
big brown dog, a magician and a face painter heading straight Across from Adam's room, there was a room that had been transformed to resemble a little girls' bedroom. The hospital curtains replaced with tie-died ones, the bedspread and sheets were bright pink and on the glass walls were posters of princesses. Lying in the bed was a fragile little girl with a Hello Kitty bandana wrapped around her head. Her mother was sitting next to her and they were both fixated on what was happening across the hall. There was laughter coming from our room, happiness had taken over and Adam was having his face painted. I was so overwhelmed with relief and joy; I stepped out of the room for a second. That mom from across the way jumped from her daughters' side and headed towards me. She asked who was in the room and I shared they were my friends - the Big Animals for Little Kids. Her eyes welled and her voice crackled as she began to tell me that her daughter has been at Children's quite awhile, in the ICU for several weeks. She went to tell me that when her daughter saw those "animals" walking down the hall and into my son's room, she smiled. This was the first time her daughter had smiled in a very long time. "Do you think they would come see my daughter?" she tearfully asked me. Without hesitation I replied "of course they would." This mom was overwhelmed with grief, her daughter was dying of cancer and all she knew was those 'animals' in my sons' room were making her daughter smile. I stood in the doorway of Adam's room as the rabbit and the dog made their way around the nurses' station and through the doorway to this precious little girl. I could see her face glowing with excitement. The killer of this child had fled, there was no cancer, and there was no death. There was simply joy and laughter. As pure as freshly fallen snow, love and life consumed that room. I don't know how long they stayed; I just stood in the doorway of Adam's room full of gratitude for the moments of escape the Big Animals for Little Kids had just brought us all. The curtains of that little girl's room were closed two days later; she had passed away. Kelley Carpenter |
for us. I whispered to my son, "Look who's come to see you." Tears
rolled down my face as Adam's face lit up like the fourth of July
as these larger than life animals circled his bed. It was in that
moment, I knew the surgery was a success and it was also in that
moment that we were all about to learn just how much a random
act of kindness disguised as a rabbit, dog, magician and face
painter would have in the life a child. 
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