The Phoenix PD’s “Bears for the Brave” program is lead by the Crimes Against Children Unit. It receives donated stuffed animals and provides them to frightened, abused or neglected children at crime or accident scenes, or at police headquarters.

The kids at Shepherd of the Valley were adorable and so anxious to help others who “don’t have any stuffed animals.”  There was a lot of hugging, kissing and long goodbyes as the animals were handed off to Officer Potts.  The true highlight was when 10 kids carried out the biggest Scooby Doo I’ve ever seen!  It was a precious moment.

Officer Potts, Phoenix Police Department, handed out safety oriented coloring books, sticker badges and answered the kids’ questions. (Boy, were there a lot of questions!)

CVL continually collects stuffed animals and looks to partner with other organizations and schools that would like to help us support this program for the Phoenix PD. In the past 20 years, CVL has collected more than 20,000 stuffed animals for this effort. Phoenix police estimate that they hand out 300 per week, so more are always welcome and needed!  Thank you all for supporting “Bears for the Brave.”