Bear Donation

Thanks to the efforts of a local civic group, the Kernersville Police Department will be able to comfort a few more children during traumatic situations.
On Wednesday, several members of the Kernersville Triad Ladies Civitan Club gathered in the lobby of police headquarters to present Chief Scott Cunningham, officers with the department and staff with more than a dozen stuffed bears and puppies they made at the Build-A-Bear store at Hanes Mall.
Chief Cunningham was appreciative of the gift. The stuffed bears and puppies will be distributed to officers within the department and will be stored in their patrol vehicles to be given out to children at any number of scenes to which law enforcement responds.
“We’re really thankful for the Civitan Club for helping out like this,” said Cunningham. “These stuffed animals are going to make life a little bit easier for a child.”
Each year, the KPD receives hundreds of donated stuffed animals that are then given to officers to have on hand at situations where children might be in distress. It could be one where a child’s parent is being arrested and placed into custody or an automobile accident. Each incident might be different, but no less traumatic to a child, said Cunningham.
“Stuffed animals like these take a lot of the edge off the incident. They help a child through that incident and also help foster a positive relationship with that officer,” he continued. “These bears will definitely go to great use and are very appreciated.”
The KPD first began collecting stuffed animals for officers to give to children in 1988 after the department was approached by the late Edith Iddings, a Kernersville resident who had collected hundreds of stuffed animals with her friend, Sarah Ballard. Iddings wanted to know if the KPD would be interested in the collection so that every officer could carry one in his or her patrol car as a way to comfort children who might need it.
At the time of her death in 2010, it was estimated that Iddings had donated more than 5,000 stuffed animals over the course of two decades. Today, the KPD still collects stuffed animals for its officer’s patrol vehicles, with hundreds of donations coming in each year.
According to club President Diana Ross, the Kernersville Triad Ladies Civitan Club is a community-based organization that works with area programs through service projects to “better our community.”
Ross was joined at Wednesday’s presentation by club members Hazel Farley, Barbara Craven, Erline Shelton and Linda Fulk.
In addition to the stuffed animals kept within officers’ patrol vehicles, the KPD also operates the Ted E. Bear program, an initiative where officers distribute donated stuffed animals to children in the community, usually at bus stops during the month of December.