Officers with the Fort Worth Police Officers Association delivered teddy bears – along with some holiday cheer – to kids in the hospital.
More than a dozen officers visited Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth on December 10, visiting families and delivering 700 teddy bears, according to a hospital press release. The police association’s nonprofit, Cops For Kids, collected donations for the event.
“Some of these kiddos don’t get to go home for Christmas, and we want to give them something to be comfortable,” said Fort Worth Police Sgt. James Novak, chair of Cops for Kids, in the release.
Officers and volunteers personally dressed each teddy bear at the Cook Children’s Build-A-Bear workshop. They divided into groups and delivered the bears to patients throughout the hospital.
“People love it, and we hand deliver them,” said Fort Worth Police Officer Bel Haddad, co-chair of Cops for Kids, in the release.
Some patients even saw a SWAT unit outside the hospital, according to the release. The police association has been donating bears for more than a decade.
The nonprofit helps officers “step beyond the badge into moments that truly matter,” FWPOA officials posted on Facebook.
“For a child who can’t go home, can’t wake up to a Christmas tree, and can’t escape the beeping monitors and IV poles, a bear becomes something familiar, something safe, something to hold onto,” officials wrote.
Officials with the Fort Worth Police Department said they hoped officers could bring “a little extra Holiday magic” to patients at the hospital.
“From sharing hugs and smiles to letting some patients explore our SWAT vehicle outside, our officers were honored to spread hope, joy and a touch of the Holiday cheer,” officials wrote.
Supporters who care about the community made this event possible, according to FWPOA officials.
“This is why we’re grateful for every sponsor who stands beside us in this mission,” they wrote. “This is what community partnership looks like. This is what giving back truly means.”
Tarrant County officials hosted a Christmas toy drive in Southlake on December 9 to collect donations for the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation, as The Dallas Express reported.
Additionally, Denton County first responders hosted another toy drive at a Ford dealership in Lewisville on December 4, as The Dallas Express also reported. Afterward, emergency vehicles lit up the surrounding streets.
