Kids' Easter rescued

CHAPEL HILL -- Suzanne Brown wasn't about to let a thief disappoint a lot of sick kids.

So when someone stole 250 stuffed animals that Brown was about to place in Easter baskets, she called a former donor to her Chapel Hill nonprofit and asked whether the donor could help.

"I can do that," Victoria Templeton said.

But Templeton didn't stop at just 250 stuffed animals.

After contacting families by phone and Facebook, she collected 1,671 animals - aardvarks to jellyfish - in 72 hours.

"I didn't have any idea it would get that exciting," said Templeton, 41, a mother of two. "People thought it was cool."

Brown's organization, Source Force, provides free clothing, groceries and gifts to Triangle residents with HIV/AIDS or cancer who live below the poverty line.

Brown founded the organization after caring for a critically ill Wake County teenager 24 years ago. Today, it assists more than 1,000 clients annually from Orange, Durham, Wake and Johnston counties.

The recession has hurt giving. In 2008, Source Force received $10,691 in contributions, less than a third of what it received in 2006. Brown hopes word about her charity spreads so more people like Templeton will help.

"It just shows there are good people everywhere and, when there's a need for something, for the most part people will step up and reach out to help," she said.