In November of 2014, an article on OregonLive.com caught the eye of Eli Shapira. It spoke of a need for teddy bears for the Beaverton Police Department’s Buddy Bear Program in Washington County and after a bit of research HugPatrol ® was born. HugPatrol ® is about helping children in stressful situations as well as offering local law enforcement and emergency responders a way to reach out to the community.

While emergency responders had access to a few sources for teddy bears prior to the HugPatrol ® program, the stuffed animals were often not packaged and sized in a way that was actually easy to use. HugPatrol ® has worked closely with a number of emergency response organizations to find the best size and packaging for the stuffed animals, allowing responders to easily take one along and offer comfort to kids when times are tough.

To have a stuffed animal to hold onto in the midst of a tough time can be very beneficial to a child. At HugPatrol® our goal is to offer new, unused stuffed animals to all emergency responders and child advocates in the Pacific Northwest so they can provide children with a bit of comfort. A small act of kindness can go a long way and with your help we can make a difference to children’s lives when they really need it.