On Saturday, December 06, the Kentucky Unit joined together at the Beaumont Inn in Harrodsburg for their annual Christmas Luncheon. 45 members from as far as Bowling Green in West Kentucky, West Liberty in the East and even new members from Cincinnati, Ohio, New Albany, Indiana and Campbellsville, Ky drove through the light morning snow showers to enjoy a delicious lunch and the friendship that make the Kentucky Unit the vibrant group that it is. 

But what about the Teddy Bears? 

 teddy-bears-031.jpg  The Bear Drive has become an annual part of our Christmas gathering to support our communities. Bob Gregory, our Public Relations committee chairman has arranged for the over 60 bears to be distributed to the following Law Enforcement Agencies:

  •      Logan County Sheriff Department. 
  •    Adairville KY Police Department
  •     Auburn KY Police Department
  •     Lewisburg KY Police Department
  •     South Central KY Drug Task Force
  •     Russellville KY Police Department

  As many of you may know Mr. Gregory has worked closely with several of these agencies and recently pointed out  that many police departments use stuffed animals to present to a child that has suffered trauma due to involvement in a car crash, search warrant where small children are present. Perhaps a drug bust, a meth lab bust, or simply a child lost in a shopping mall.  Most First Responders, Police, Fire and Ambulance services, will have some type of diversionary item, e.g., toy, animal, coloring book, etc., in their assigned vehicle for that use. Mr Gregory said, ” I cannot, for the life of me, imagine the emotional trauma a child experiences when a parent, guardian, or their care giver is all of a sudden placed in hand cuffs and moved out of the sight of that child.” Can you imagine the simple pleasure and comfort a child must feel when they are handed one of these warm huggable bears during these stressful times?

 It is often said that Christmas is the season for caring. But as WBCCI members we can take pride in the year round service projects we participate in. Whether it is our own Christmas Teddy Bear Drive, helping out another Unit members family in need, the service projects of other Units, the Region Five food drive this fall or the large contributions during the International Rally this summer we should all be proud of the the many wonderful acts of kindness and caring our WBCCI members provide.