Ty Inc. will release special edition Beanie Baby 'Aloha' bear to benefit Maui wildfire relief
As the wildfires that have claimed at least 110 lives continue to burn across Maui, charities, individuals and companies have stepped up in an attempt to mitigate the devastation.
Among those companies working to provide relief is toy company Ty Inc., famous for creating one of the most memorable toy crazes of the 1990s: Beanie Babies.
In a press release Thursday, the company's founder and owner Ty Warner announced plans to introduce Aloha, a limited edition gold Beanie Baby teddy bear featuring a "Maui Strong" patch over its heart and a rainbow ribbon around its neck.
Ty Inc. said it will donate 100% of the profits from Aloha bear sales to the American Red Cross "to support its efforts to help people affected by the Hawaii wildfires."
"Loss can strike at any time. The speed and savagery of the Maui wildfires are an especially horrific, heartbreaking reminder of that," Warner stated in the release. "While I can't undo what has happened, I can try to help those who are suffering in the aftermath."
The toymaker also acknowledged that thousands of locals still "lack food, clothing, shelter and other necessities as they attempt to cope with last week's fires," adding, "My hope in partnering with the American Red Cross is that I can help ease their burden."
As with all Beanie Babies, Aloha has a birthday: Aug. 8, the day the tragic fires began. The poem inside the bear's tag reads: "Helping each other all day long / We forever will stay Maui strong."
The release of the bear coincides with the company's 30th anniversary, a fact also highlighted by the recent debut of "The Beanie Bubble" a fictionalized film starring Zach Galifianakis as Warner alongside Elizabeth Banks, Geraldine Viswanathan and Sarah Snook as the three women who helped catapult him to the toy business stratosphere.
Ty Inc.'s senior vice president of global sales and licensing, Tania Lundeen, said that though the film "isn't real ... the situation on Maui is."
"The Hawaii recovery efforts are a stark reminder of what is important, and that's what Ty is focused on with Aloha," Lundeen said in a statement.
