Saint Leo University is lending a helping hand to the Tampa Police Department (TPD) this holiday season, through the Teddy Bears for TPD campaign.
The campaign provides cuddly critters for officers to carry in their vehicles, so they can provide comfort to children in stressful situations, according to a news release.
Saint Leo’s Tampa Education Center will partner with the TPD to put together a “comfort squad” of stuffed animals. Officers will provide these furry friends to children at crime scenes, in times of crisis, trauma, and other scary situations.
“When police arrive on scene, they’re the first people to see children in a traumatic situation,” Ruben Delgado, TPD’s interim chief, said in a release.
“Giving them a teddy bear or a stuffed animal helps calm them. It really makes a difference,” said Delgado.
The Saint Leo education center will accept donations through Dec. 13 of new and gently used teddy bears and other stuffed animals, which can be dropped off Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., at 1403 N. Howard Ave., in Tampa.
In addition, Saint Leo also will collect teddy bears and other “stuffies” at its residential campus in St. Leo, 33701 State Road 52, and all items will be donated to the police department.
The teddy bears will provide another tool for the TPD to use to diffuse an often anxious and scary time.
For information, contact Rod Kirkwood at or 813-743-3228.
Published December 01, 2021
