Random Thoughts: Officer Buddy Bear Blankets

Remember last year when I got my Knifty Knitter and my craft group at work made all those hats for the children's hospital? Well, this year this group took on a project a little closer to home.

The Gresham Police Department has participated in the Officer Buddy Bear program for the last 20 years. What is Officer Buddy Bear, you ask? It is a program where police officers have a bear and a blanket in their vehicles to give to children that have been involved in some kind of traumatic event, whether it is a car accident or child abuse or witnessing a crime. Having something soft and snuggly to hold can often make them feel better (and to be honest, I think the officers need them once in a while, too). After a short hiatus, Gresham has started the project up again. In January a couple of the gals in Police Records sent out a call for anyone that was interested to donate blankets to go with the stuffed animals. Our crafy group decided that we would make blankets for them.

So we made some blankets and in about a month we were astounded at the blankets that came pouring in! From fleece tie blankets, crocheted blankets, sewn blankets, and one amazing Sponge Bob Square Pants quilt, our crafters stepped up to the challenge with a vengence. We had about 30 blankets to donate to the program.

I sorta-kinda got involved with coordinating this effort from the crafter's end, along with my good friend Shannon. We planned to showcase the blankets in one of the meeting rooms for a couple hours one day, and somehow that turned into this grand event with the Police public information officer got wind of what was going on and sent out a press release. Suddenly, we were having an event in the lobby with presentations by police representatives and the media there taking pictures.

So we got some media coverage and some pictures out of it. Here is what was in the Oregonian:

Blankets and bears to comfort a child
Giving - Bundles show up after Gresham city employees craft blankets and spread the word
Thursday, February 19, 2009
CATHERINE TREVISON
The Oregonian Staff

When Heidi Seipert's son cut his finger last summer, the medical workers who took care of the wound comforted him immediately with a stuffed animal and a handmade blanket.
Seipert and colleague Hollie Kaiser, both Gresham police record specialists, talked about all the frightened children they'd seen and heard of over the years, and started sending a message to friends and colleagues: We want blankets.
Since then, it has been blankets by the armful, knitted, crocheted, quilted and sewn by church groups and crafters throughout Gresham. On Friday, dozens of blankets made by city employees will be on display in the lobby of City Hall. Next week, Gresham police will start giving stuffed animals and blankets to the children they encounter everywhere from car crashes to domestic violence.

"The great thing is we're making a difference," said Shannon Lopez, part of a City Hall crafting group that decided to support the program. "This blanket is going to go to some little kid who's having a hard time in their life, and make them feel better."
The city often receives donations of stuffed animals, but in recent years has not given many out, Kaiser said. Now, volunteers are bagging bears with blankets to make it easy to store them in patrol cars.
Since they put the call out in December, "it's just been crazy," Kaiser said. "Blankets show up -- a lot of times we don't even know where they're coming from. Sometimes people just leave them in a bag . . . beautiful ones."

The blankets made by the City Hall crafting group will be on display at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Gresham City Hall, with the creators on hand to talk about the project and receive thanks from Gresham Police Chief Craig Junginger.

Catherine Trevison: 503-294-5971; ctrevison@news.oregonian.com

Here is what was in the Gresham Outlook:

BLANKETS GALORE COMING OUT OF GRESHAM CITY HALL
And here’s an even more uplifting story from the cops beat: Over at the Gresham Police Department, employees have long shown their concern for children involved in traffic accidents, family disturbances and other incidents that may frighten small boys and girls. For more than 20 years, the Police Department has participated in the Buddy Bear Program, which allows Gresham officers to hand out stuffed animals to children who are dealing with some traumatic event.

But two of the department’s record specialists – Heidi Seipert and Hollie Kaiser – decided to carry those comforting gestures to a new level by providing special blankets for these children. They enlisted the support of Kristine Leibrand and Shannon Lopez, also Gresham employees, and soon the city workers were churning out handmade blankets – lots of blankets.
On Friday, approximately 40 blankets were displayed in the front lobby at Gresham City Hall. Among the contributors – people who either made blankets or donated supplies or money – were: Charlene Siegfried, Sarah Gulde, Dixie Delarm, Emily Randel, Julie Kallem, Ken Koblitz, Sarale Hickson, Gary Lile, Elaine Peyton and Judy Wylie, Wendy Marshall and Janet Young.

The group of crafty folks, each holding a blankets they made.