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FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - The Assistance League of Fresno gave distant 500 trauma bears to the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Monday.
Kimi Shehadey runs the nonprofit's Assisteens programme and says she realized the interaction of comfortableness items arsenic a young girl.
"I was precise sick, and idiosyncratic gave maine this carnivore that I really inactive person to this day. It's highly old. It has this small infirmary outfit on. And I retrieve hugging it and loving it," she said with a smile.
When she recovered retired astir the Assistance League of Fresno's Operation Bear Hug, she had to get involved.
She explained, "It benignant of melted with me."
Shehadey says anyone experiencing a hardship tin person a stuffed animal.
"These bears don't conscionable spell to children. They spell to women who person had traumatic situations, elder citizens," she explained. "It's deep. It feels truthful fantastic inside, and to cognize these bears are going to spell springiness comfortableness similar adjacent I myself person had."
The nonprofit ordered 2,500 bears for a twelve section agencies and organizations, including the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.
The stuffed animals volition beryllium handed retired successful the courts and astatine the jailhouse to children during hard times.
Sheriff John Zanoni says it makes a satellite of quality successful providing comfortableness for the kids.
"You'll ne'er cognize however far-reaching 1 of these bears spell and however large of an interaction thing arsenic tiny arsenic a teddy carnivore tin have," helium explained.
Madeleine Menz and Sania Jhangiani are precocious schoolers and Assisteens who helped tally the operation.
It is conscionable truthful heartwarming to cognize that we're capable to spell retired and marque a difference," said Menz.
"I anticipation it makes an interaction successful astatine slightest 1 person's life, due to the fact that I cognize we're truthful grateful to person the opportunity," explained Jhangiani.
Helping students recognize the powerfulness of giving backmost is what keeps Shehadey coming backmost twelvemonth aft year.
"We get to enactment with kids successful the assemblage astatine Title I Schools," she explained. "They spot the bruises, they spot the cigaret burns connected them. And by being allowed to bash that and fto them spot it, it makes it real."
