By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(June 11, 2026) Hundreds of new toys are now available for children receiving care at TidalHealth Atlantic in Berlin after a local family made it their mission to give back to the hospital that helped save their daughter’s life.

On Monday afternoon, Berlin-area business owners Alex and Nikolay Mutavchiyski, accompanied by their eight-year-old daughter, delivered 457 donated play items to the hospital’s Brooke’s Toy Closet, a program that provides toys to kids visiting the emergency department and inpatient units.

The donation effort began after the Mutavchiyskis’ daughter noticed the toy supply was running low during a trip to the emergency room in early May.

According to Alex Mutavchiyski, her family’s connection to TidalHealth Atlantic, formerly Atlantic General Hospital, dates back to July 2023, when her older daughter, Nia, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

“We had no idea what was going on with her,” Mutavchiyski said. “She was very lethargic. We took her to the emergency room. An amazing team of doctors and nurses welcomed us.”

She said the local medical team stabilized her daughter before she was airlifted later that night to a children’s hospital in Washington, D.C.

“They saved her life,” Mutavchiyski said.

The family found themselves back in the emergency department just last month, when Nia became ill. During the visit, she needed an IV, an experience her mother described as frightening and emotional for an 8-year-old child.

To help comfort her, a nurse offered a trip to the hospital’s toy closet.

“The nurse took her to the closet, and they had only a couple of toys,” Mutavchiyski said. “The cabinet looked sad. It wasn’t fully stocked.”

After selecting a toy, Nia asked Mutavchiyski if she could bring in some of her own toys to add to the closet’s supply. While the hospital cannot accept used toys, the conversation sparked the idea of initiating a community-wide drive to gather additional play items for the facility.

Over the next month, the family solicited donations through social media and word of mouth. They received a total of 457 pieces for the hospital’s toy closet from residents throughout the area.

“We have baby toys and toys for older kids,” Mutavchiyski said. “Everything from stuffed animals, board games, puzzles, coloring books, crayons, and markers. People were very, very generous.”

By the end of the drive with over 450 items collected, the family had secured enough donations to fill 20 bins. They were dropped off on Monday afternoon, where Nia stocked the shelves with as many toys as could fit. The remainder will be kept at the hospital and transferred to the closet as its current supply dwindles.

The toys will help replenish Brooke’s Toy Closet, which opened at the healthcare facility last summer. The program was inspired by Brooke Mulford, a young cancer patient from Salisbury whose wish was to brighten frightening hospital stays for other children.

Three additional Brooke’s Toy Closets exist at other hospitals along the East Coast.

Mutavchiyski hopes the donation will not only benefit young patients but also encourage others to contribute in the future.

“I hope what we are doing with that toy drive will inspire more local people to do that,” she said. “All the toys we are donating will stay [at the hospital].”