Thursday, September 10, 2009

Seattle simpleFLOORS gives back to the community aka "Teddy Bears in Tukwila"

In the Tukwila/Seattle store location we have the luxury of having a good sized showroom for our flooring displays and a warehouse in the back. One of the partners here has allowed his mom to keep a few boxes of personal items in the back, on a temporary basis. Last week she came in and sorted through some boxes, and found a box of stuffed animals. They were primarily teddy bears, most being beanie babies with their tags still on. She generously offered to give them to me to bring home to my 3 year old daughter, Riley. I thought there are other children who could use these teddy bears more than Riley (believe me, she is not lacking for toys). I called the local police station and asked if they were in need of any new teddy bears for their Operation Teddy Bear program. The nice officer who answered the phone immediately said "yes, we can definitely use them to give to children in need". In about an hour local Tukwila police officer came by and picked up the box full of teddy bears for the kids. The team at the Tukwila simpleFLOORS store feels good about being able to help 15-20 kids in trauma feel a little better with a new teddy bear to snuggle with. Just so no one feels bad for Riley... there were a few stuffed animals that were not teddy bears, so I brought those home to her.

Operation Teddy Bear Info (this is available in most cities!)The program centers around helping young children who have been exposed to or involved in a traumatic incident involving police intervention. Ex: Domestic disputes, accidents involving injury. Children are given a teddy bear to keep, to help the officer form a bond with the child and also console the child. Teddy bears are donated by a private citizen.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.