Learning Express Toys has donated $1800 worth of toys to the Child Life Center at Hatch’s House of Hope.

Learning Express’s North Shore location celebrated its first anniversary last September, and pledged 10% of their earnings during the celebration to The Austin Hatcher Foundation and its Hatch’s house of hope. The toys Learning Express has delivered, selected by the Hatch’s staff, are the product of that donation.

“We are so grateful for these incredible toys that will not only serve as entertainment for Hatch’s guests, but also function to help our child life experts diagnose cognitive deficits in these children,” said Amy Jo Osborn, president of the Austin Hatcher Foundation. “The generosity of Mary Beth Conklin and her staff at Learning Express has made a huge impact at Hatch’s.”

“Giving back to the community is central to our business philosophy,” said Mary Beth Conklin, owner, Learning Express Toys. “Hatch’s House of Hope is an outstanding organization that provides critical support to children facing life-threatening illnesses. We’re honored to help them further their goal of serving these children and families in need.”

The Austin Hatcher Foundation for a carefree childhood was formed in 2006 after Amy Jo and Jim Osborn lost their infant son Hatch to a rare form of pediatric cancer. The foundation’s mission is to support research towards the diagnosis, treatment and development of a cure for pediatric cancer, and to provide support and hope to children and families undergoing treatment as well as those who have lost children due to cancer.

The foundation has developed a landmark group of programs and services essential to help cancer stricken children and their families function within their community. All services provided by the Foundation are free of charge, funded solely by the generous donations of its supporters.

Hatch’s house of hope is a unique concept designed to keep the family unit whole when dealing with pediatric cancer. Specifically, these services include IIP neurocognitive testing, educational programming to help effected children overcome their cognitive and learning deficits, emotional counseling for the cancer affected child, their siblings and parents, and marital and financial counseling to ensure a safe environment to maximize the family growth as a whole.

All services at Hatch’s are free to its guests, funded entirely by donations. Erlanger Medical Mall in Chattanooga, is the site of the first Hatch’s house of hope, which opened September 18, 2009.

Learning Express Toys is the nations largest franchisor of specialty toy stores with over 140 stores nationwide. The stores stock unique toys that often cannot be found at larger retailers that encourage creativity and learning as well as foster developmental growth.

Chattanooga is home to two locations, both owned by Mary Beth and Cam Conklin.