 The Shielded Hearts Teddy Bear Drive gives Milwaukee police officers stuffed animals that are used to comfort kids involved in scary situations. Panda put its warehouse of stuffed bears to good use over the holidays.
It’s not unusual for Kellie Hoffmeister to have a storeroom full of stuffed panda bears. The president and founder of Panda Group has been giving the cuddly bears to clients for the nearly 14 years her woman-owned small business has been around.
But when Hoffmeister and her husband Todd, Panda’s vice president and editor in chief, heard about the Shielded Hearts Teddy Bear Drive, she knew the 40 large plush pandas she had could be put to use as much more than a promotional give away.
“When we heard about the Shielded Hearts drive we were ready,” said Hoffmeister. “We’ve been giving away panda bears to clients for 14 years, but because the bear goes right to the children it made perfect sense to us. It’s a great opportunity to make a child smile.”
The drive was announced on Dec. 7 by Catherine Draeger at a press conference at MPD’s District 7 station. At the press conference Draeger and Hoffmeister showed off the large cache of bears already donated to the cause, which conspicuously included dozens of stuffed pandas.
 Draeger is the executive director of Shielded Hearts, an organization made up of the wives and girlfriends of men serving in law enforcement. Shielded Hearts provides the unique understanding, support, and strength needed to combat the ups and downs inherent with being in a relationship with a law enforcement officer.
“Our significant others see things on a nightly basis that would make the average person horrified,” said Draeger. “Yet at the end of their shift they still have a family to go home to. We look to find hope in our police life, and one of those ways is to come together and give something back. Our police officers often find children caught in grown-up circumstances. We can’t meet every need, but we can get teddy bears into the officers’ hands so that they have them when a need arises. A huggable stuffed animal can be a small comfort in a scary circumstance.”
Those interested in donating new or gently used bears can drop them off at any Milwaukee Police Department until Jan. 4. The bears will not only be used during Christmas, but will available to officers until supplies run out. For more information go to www.teddybeardrive.shieldedhearts.com. |
