New and Gently Used Stuffed Animals Find Young Owners

This spring the Education Club at Bay Path College adopted a unique community service project—the New and Gently Used Stuffed Animals Drive for the Hampden County Juvenile Court of Western Massachusetts.

These fluffy and fuzzy friends are often given as gifts to children as they navigate through the court system. We heard they needed more stuffed animals, stated Education Club President Ashley Thesen, a junior elementary education major, “and we thought it would be an unusual and fun project for the club to do. Little did we know that the entire college community would really take this to heart! It was so popular…and we collected over 450 stuffed animals. They filled an entire dorm room.”

Bags of stuffed animals were delivered to the Hampden County Juvenile Court and were an immediate success. It was unbelievable and overwhelming, said Lori Leavitt, law clerk at the facility. Every child that goes through foster care or adoption receives a stuffed animal as a gift or a remembrance.

With this donation by the Bay Path Education Club and community, we now have enough animals for all the children we are helping. In the average year, the Hampden County Juvenile Court System at both the Springfield and Holyoke locations handles around 419 cases through Care and Prevention, and assists in over 100 adoptions.

The Honorable Daniel Swords, First Justice of the Hampden County Juvenile Court, was particularly moved by the massive collection. This is just a great effort and we thank Bay Path. These stuffed animals will be given to some of the most vulnerable children in our community who are going through a traumatic period in their lives.

It’s difficult for an adult to be in the court system, so you can imagine what it must be like for a child. When you hand them a stuffed animal, their eyes just light up. It’s a simple gesture that has great impact!

The New and Gently Used Stuffed Animals Drive has been so successful that the Education Club is considering adopting it as one of their community projects for next year as well, and expanding its geographic distribution.

Bay Path is a comprehensive, four-year private college with an enrollment of over 1300 students at its Longmeadow and Southbridge campuses. The College offers undergraduate degrees for women, and graduate degrees for men and women. Through its focus on leadership, communications, and technology, the College educates students to become confident and resourceful contributors to our increasingly global community.

Also see: stuffed animals cats

About The Author:

Don McGilverey is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-toys.com. Find fun kids educational toys and children’s wooden toys you enjoyed as a child.

	Used Stuffed Animals
New and Gently Used Stuffed Animals Find Young Owners