Kiwanis Club members hug each and every stuffed animal they donate to children

The Villages, Florida, Daily Sun
http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/articles/2009/02/09/lifestyles/lifestyles01.txt

THE VILLAGES — A hug can be anything from an expression of love to a gesture of support and comfort.

The value of a hug is something the members of the Kiwanis Club of Lady Lake know well, and they are passing hugs on to children through their organization’s statewide Hugs and Hats program. The program, established by the Kiwanis club Florida Gov. David Lindell, provides donated teddy bears and hats to children.

The teddy bears are given to hospitals and police departments to distribute to children who are going through an upsetting or traumatic experience, such as a traffic accident, serious illness or removal from an unsuitable home.

The hats are given to children who have cancer and have lost their hair due to chemotherapy treatments.

Huggable donations

Recently, the club was able to collect and donate 48 teddy bears to the Lady Lake Police Department, and along with the stuffed animals, the children will get something extra. Each of the donated bears has been hugged by a member of the Kiwanis club before being given away.

“The idea is that we take, for instance, teddy bears or stuffed animals, and then our members will hug them. And then we pass them on to the local police department, hospitals, or anywhere there may be children that are traumatized,” club member Bud Brown, of Howey-In-the-Hills, said.

“It’s basically passing a hug off to the child, too.”

The international Kiwanis motto is “Serving the Children of the World,” so the concept of helping children is nothing new to the members of Kiwanis Club of Lady Lake. Club President Barbara Rogers, of the Village of Summerhill, said the Hugs and Hats program is what the club is all about.

“Most of our projects are geared toward children. We feel it’s a good thing because it’s (for) children,” she said. “This is basically what we do.”

For Brown, the Kiwanis mission to help children came as a welcome surprise when he joined the group. He and his wife wanted to find a way to get involved in the community and were invited to join the Kiwanis Club. When he discovered they would be working for and with children, Brown was delighted.

“My wife and I, Glendia, we don’t have any kids. It was really a shock to me when I joined the club and they have so much to do with children,” he said. “It’s really been a lot of fun for me. I’m a kid at heart. I really enjoy being with the children.”

A giving group

During a recent meeting, Rogers and Brown presented the donated bears to Lady Lake Police Chief Ed Nathanson, who expressed his thanks. He said the donated bears would be a valuable resource for officers who are dealing with children in traumatic situations.

“We will disperse them to our officers and our victim-of-crime advocates, so that when the time comes, should the time come, and children are involved ... it will just give them something tangible to hold onto,” Nathanson said. “It will help to comfort them.”

The bears have proven to be helpful to children in the past, and Nathanson said he is grateful to the Kiwanis Club for their donation and continued support.

“It’s a proven program over the years, and we’re blessed that the local Kiwanis club continues to remember us and think of us,” he said.

“Together we make a positive difference, and it’s nice that you don’t even have to ask. The community identifies the needs and then just responded to it and stepped up to the plate.”