Duval County Court Judge Angela Cox and her husband Travis have organized an Elmo drive after reading about a Jacksonville couple that began collecting the dolls to give to ill children in an effort to provide them some comfort.
Elmo drive to benefit Wolfson Children’s Hospital
11/23/2009
by Joe Wilhelm Jr. Staff Writer
The medicinal value of a smile has not been defined, but that hasn’t stopped a local couple from encouraging them with the help of Sesame Street favorite, Elmo.
Duval County Court Judge Angela Cox and her husband Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Travis Cox are experiencing both the pleasure and pain that comes with being new parents. They experienced some of the latter recently when they found out that their 1 year-old daughter Morgan’s body wasn’t producing pigment at the rate it should and that affected the development of her retinas.
Doctors let the new parents know that the condition could lead to blindness. The child has been visiting specialists and the parents are happy to report that she has been passing all of her vision tests “with flying colors.” But during this time, Angela saw an article in a newspaper that detailed the efforts of a Jacksonville couple who had lost two children under one year of age to illnesses and they decided to honor their children by collecting Elmo dolls and giving them to ill children to help provide them with comfort. The couple’s child, Austin, was diagnosed with cancer and as he fought the disease the doll would make him smile, so they called their effort “Smiles from Austin.”
Instead of letting worry and fear of their child’s future take hold of them, the Coxes decided they were going to try and provide as many smiles to as many children as they could in Morgan’s honor.
“I’ve never done anything like this before and it has been amazing,” said Cox. “We’ve had complete strangers calling that didn’t even know me, but heard what we were doing and wanted to help.”
The Coxes got the word out about their Elmo drive to family, friends, the legal community and the faith community, and have been able to amass a collection of 214 Elmo toys.
“The response from the legal community has been great,” said Cox. “We received donations from state attorneys, public defenders and private attorneys.”
Cox collected the toys in her office, so it did produce some different reactions from visitors.
“The first time I heard about the drive was after I saw the collection in her office,” said attorney Hugh Blanton. “The way they were assembled in boxes, they looked like a jury staring back at you ready to render a decision. “
Cox explained the jury after Blanton inquired about it and he joined the list of donors shortly after.
“It’s a great cause,” said Blanton. “Also you can make a contribution that isn’t a big financial burden, but makes a big difference in a child’s life.”
The drive was schedule to end at the beginning of October and they are boxed up and ready to ship over to Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
