A stack of bunnies and other critters awaits pickup from one of the offices of the Division of Public Health during the bunny drive.

In the end, they go to appreciative hands where they warm the hearts of young, old and in-betweens who need something to remind them that people care and haven’t forgotten them.

Now in its twenty-first year, the bunny drive by DHHS employees based in Raleigh resulted in lots of bunnies and a range of other critters from chicks, mice and bears to frogs, lambs, monkeys, a black and tan puppy and even a tiger, all being distributed.

This year’s drive collected a new record 1,776 animals, 500 more than last year. Beverly Godwin from the Controller’s Office is the department’s ‘Bunny Chick.’ She reported that even after adding the Veterans Administration hospitals in Fayetteville and Durham to the list of homes for the bunnies, there were 400 yet to be distributed to Triangle area nursing homes that have not received them in the past.

“It’s just amazing how more people respond to this every year,” Godwin said. “DHHS does a really good job, and the employees really enjoy this.”

Deliveries started the week of April 7. Destinations include pediatric and geriatric areas in Triangle hospitals, nursing homes, and other area care facilities.

Godwin is assisted by Helen Wilkins, who she calls her bunny chick apprentice. Wilkins also works in the Controller’s Office. Bunny drive coordinators across DHHS offices in Raleigh contribute their shelf and table space with signs for “Bunny Central” throughout the collection which opened in March and concluded April 2.