Teddy bears bring comfort

Police offer the bears to children going through a traumatic experience.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

LIBERTY — Visitors to the Unity Church Centre on Naylor-Lloyd Road this time of year may question some of the characters sitting in the church pews, but those characters are there strictly for charity.

The characters sitting on pews throughout the church range from a few inches tall to about 3 feet tall, are stuffed with various material and often have some form of a button for a nose.

According to The Rev. Richard Schumacher, church members are invited to bring stuffed animals and teddy bears to the church for a visit lasting several weeks before being sent off to another home.

“Immediately following Thanksgiving, we invite members to bring in the teddy bears. The bears sit on the pews for about five weeks and the members hold them or whatever. At the end of five weeks, we send them out into the community,” he said.

The church, which has been involved in the program for more than 15 years, has more than 100 bears to donate this year. Officers from the township police department are expected to pick the bears up within the next few days.

Schumacher said fires and instances of domestic violence often rise during the holiday season, making the bears useful to kids in search of comfort after a family tragedy or hardship. He said the bears also come in handy for families having a hard time buying gifts for their kids.

“We recognize that some families will have hard times during the holidays, so we make these bears available as a means of comfort to children or families who face difficulties,” he said.

The church has, in the past, given teddy bears to hospice service organizations and community centers. Schumacher said church members cannot see the effect the bears have on those who receive them but trust that they do make a difference.

Detective Sgt. Toby Meloro of Liberty Township police said the bears do in fact make a difference to many people with whom officers come in contact.

“We do different projects with the community and in the schools and pass out the bears during those times,” he said. “We make sure each cruiser has a teddy bear in it, and if we come across certain situations, we can give the smaller kids a little gift, some type of security.”

Meloro said the bears usually last the department throughout the year. Any bears left over from the previous year’s donations, he said, are given to charitable organizations to be distributed to disadvantaged kids for Christmas.