Odessa Police Department Chief Michael Gerke picked up multiple stuffed animals and knew that small token could one day brighten a child’s life.
HSB Insurance Agency donated about 125 stuffed animals to OPD on Tuesday morning.
Gerke said every officer in the department will carry two or three stuffed animals in their patrol unit and have the ability to give them out to children while responding to calls.
"It’s really nice to have these things to give out to the children in the community when they experience a traumatic incident," Gerke said. "They could be involved in an accident with their parents or it could be a family violence situation."
Michael Bearor, an insurance consultant for HSB Insurance Agency in Odessa, said she donated a total of about 250 stuffed animals to OPD and the Ector County Sheriff’s Office. Bearor said she delivered the 125 stuffed animals to ECSO on Monday.
Bearor said a stuffed animal is a little gesture, but it can lift the spirits of a child.
"It can go a long way with a child because it calms the child down and they can hold on to that," Bearor said. "At least they have something to hold. If they have something to hold, there’s still hope."
Gerke said OPD has collected stuffed animals well before he started at the department, which he explained was more than 22 years ago.
OPD formed the Odessa Teddy Bear Patrol in 1990 as a 501(C)(3) nonprofit, an OPD website stated. Bearor said she donated stuffed animals to law enforcement agencies in the past, but this is the first time that she has partnered with a company.
Bearor hopes to donate a collection of stuffed animals to ECSO and OPD next year.
"Now that I have brought in my place of employment, we plan on doing this every year and hopefully it will grow every year," Bearor said. "I usually run the teddy bear drive in the spring or early summer, because it seems like the summer months are worse and that’s really when (ECSO and OPD) need them."
