A Geoffrey the Giraffe statue was moved from the Toys R Us headquarters in Wayne, New Jersey, to the lobby of Bristol-Meyers Squibb Children's Hospital on Wednesday morning.
The 16-foot, 550-pound statue was donated by the company when they shuttered U.S. operations at the end of June, an action that was facilitated and sponsored by Joseph Malfitano, a liquidation expert helping Toys R Us get rid of stuff like the statue, New Brunswick Patch reported.
Malfitano bought the giraffe and paid $10,000 for the statue to be shipped to the hospital, My Central Jersey reported. Malfitano originally wanted the giraffe to go to a Denver children's hospital, since he lives in Boulder and his son was treated there for type 1 diabetes, but the hospital could not handle the size of the statue.
Several young patients at the children's hospital pulled the black tarp off Geoffrey when it was unveiled Wednesday, NB Patch reported. Jack Stella, 6, has been in and out of the hospital since April with Burkitt's lymphoma, and was excited to see Geoffrey come to the hospital where he often stays.
The unveiling also involved jungle-themed music and cupcakes, My Central Jersey reported.
"As the Toys R Us mascot, Geoffrey symbolized the fun and happy times that toys bring to kids," John Gantner, CEO of hospital parent Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, said, according to My Central Jersey. "In our children's hospital, Geoffrey will continue to stimulate the minds and hearts of our littlest patients and briefly replace their fears and apprehension with happy thoughts and some fun
Gantner pointed out that Geoffrey's original name was "Dr. G. Raffe," which made his new home fitting, My Central Jersey reported.
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