Stuffed lions aid people in crisis

MAPLETON — One woman accidentally killed her toddler while backing out of the driveway, while another lost her teenage son in a car accident after football practice. Several people have lost loved ones to cancer or have simply lost a job or a pet and are wondering how to cope.

At some point, amid their grief, all received an unusual gift: a bright blue Ryan's Lion.

"It's just a way to say, 'Somebody's thinking about you — somebody cares,'" says 18-year-old Ryan Allred, who started giving away stuffed lions in his favorite color two-and-a-half years ago as part of an Eagle Scout project, hoping to brighten the lives of parents with infants hospitalized in intensive care units.

Since then, the idea has blossomed into a year-round crusade, with Ryan having handed out nearly 300 lions to people going through any kind of crisis, from divorce and bankruptcy, to the recent diagnosis of a life-threatening illness.

"I never go anywhere without a few extra lions in the trunk," says Ryan, "because you never know when somebody might need one. And someday, when they no longer need that lion, they can pass it on to somebody else. That's the neat thing about it."

Impressed by Ryan's ingenuity and compassion, I recently joined him and his mom, Lynnae Allred, for a Free Lunch at Mimi's Cafe (quiche and fruit for Lynnae and an Italian ciabatta breakfast for Ryan) to hear more about Ryan's Lion.

The inspiration behind the program actually began on Valentine's Day 1992, eight days after Ryan was born two months premature, weighing 4 pounds, 8 ounces.

"He was hooked up to all these wires and tubing, struggling to breathe," recalls Lynnae, 44, who longed to hold her son, but could only stroke his tiny hands and feet. "I decided that I would get a small stuffed lion for Ryan's Isolette to symbolize his courage and his will to live."

Lynnae looked everywhere for a stuffed lion, but there were none to be found. There were plenty of bears, rabbits, cats and dogs. But no lions.

A week later, after she and her husband, Garth, took Ryan home from the hospital, a package from Lynnae's sister arrived on their doorstep. Inside was a plush lion with the following note attached:

Dear Ryan,