Like dad, like daughter: She donates stuffed animals, too

Don’t worry about Olivia Sain if you see her driving around with huge trash bags in the backseat of her Subaru.

That’s just the transport vehicle for more than 300 stuffed animals she plans to hand out at The Salvation Army today.

Sain plans to rekindle a tradition started by her father, former Visit Orlando CEO Gary Sain, who often spent Thanksgiving handing out stuffed elephants, monkeys and cats to children.

“He would take me every year,” said Sain, 29, whose father died in 2012. “He always showed me the importance of giving back and, I thought, ‘Why not carry on this tradition?’ ”

About two weeks ago, Sain noticed about 150 stuffed animals in her closet.

That sparked her idea and she has been collecting more throughout Orlando since.

Dealing with the holidays without her father does not get easier, Sain said.

Still, she wanted to honor him.

“It had gotten to the point where you hate the holidays,” she said. “You see everyone else with their families and it was very lonely for my mom and me.”

She hopes that can be alleviated to some extent by spending time with those in need.

“I’m sure it will be very hard and sad to hear their stories,” she said. “But knowing I am doing something, however small, that can put a smile on a face, it makes you feel good.”

The stuffed animal drive will likely become a regular thing: Sain expects she can top her 300 animals next year if she spends more than two weeks on it.

She also expects that her father would have been impressed.

“He’d probably say, ‘It’s about time you did something,’ ” she said, laughing. “He would be surprised and proud that his lessons have sunk in.”