Six-year-old Mathieu Kochaniec is passing up his birthday presents and instead, bringing them to Windsor Regional Hospital.
His school — St. Joseph's Catholic Elementary in River Canard — held a recent event to support Huntre Allard. The nine-year-old has been in and out of hospital for more than a year after being diagnosed with brain cancer.
"I was doing Hats Off for Huntre and I wanted to help. I just didn't like that he was having to do this," says the Amherstburg native, who tells CTV Windsor the Huntre's story really hit home.
Mathieu's parents Tina and Patrick Kochaniec think their son just likes giving.
"I was surprised by how much this has affected him, how many questions I've gotten and how he just wants to continue to help and donate. We are extremely proud of him," Tina says. "He does want to continue to do this for his other birthdays; he has expressed that to us. He says that he enjoys giving the gifts better than receiving them.
Child Life Specialist at the hospital Jen Burton-Liang says the toys help make the unfamiliar setting more comfortable.
"Donations like this really help us keep everything stocked," says Burton-Liang. "We have treasure boxes throughout the hospital and we make sure the playroom has nice toys and that there are toys to give away to kids when they have a difficult procedure. Passes the time and helps them play and relive stress so, we really appreciate it.
For the hospital, the toys are a welcome surprise and Mathieu can't wait to see kids playing with something new.