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Troopers give gifts
Published Wednesday, December 24, 2008
A sleepy Amelia Oliver was woken by a special Christmas surprise Thursday morning.
Once her eyes focused on the new furry friend, her eyes lit up, she grabbed the teddy bear and hugged it as close as possible.
Her new toy came courtesy of the Alabama State Troopers.
For more than thirty years the troopers have been giving out teddy bears to help deliver some much needed holiday cheer all over the state.
Alabama State Trooper Association Representative for the Selma District Rick Ward, Alabama State Troopers John Reese and Donald Shepard and a Dallas County Sheriff’s deputy joined together to give five children in the Vaughan Regional Hospital a special Christmas gift.
“The program started by giving children involved in accidents teddy bears,” Reese said. “We say how the bears had a calming effect on the children and started giving them out in hospitals. We hope the bears bring joy especially at Christmas time.”
Tammy Settles and her son Ernest Foster III, 2, found themselves in the hospital on Christmas Eve. Ernest was severely dehydrated, weighing only 29 pounds when he came into the hospital.
“It was great having the troopers stop by,” Settles said. “I was a reserve Alabama State Trooper so the bear is perfect for us.”
Settles told Ernest he should paint his new remote control car blue and put the trooper teddy bear on his early Christmas present.
Ernest and his mother left shortly after the stop by the troopers, but the stuffed animal had already left an impression.
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