Teddy bears bring smiles to hospitalized kids

Those who have seen playpens littering the DeMoss hallways this past week can rest any ideas about a new Liberty University Day Care. Liberty’s chapter of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society made them available for peers, faculty and staff to donate teddy bears and other stuffed animals for hospitalized children.

ALD Head President Rebecca Smith and other chapter officers delivered these teddy bears to the Centra Health Pediatric Center at Lynchburg General Hospital Thursday, March 21.

Companion — ALD members collected stuffed animals to give to children in the Centra Health Pediatric Center. Photo credit: Kamryn Reynolds

This year’s annual Teddy Bear Drive moved students and faculty to donate more than 150 stuffed teddy bears, giraffes and monkeys. According to ALD faculty advisor Marilyn Gadomski, this amount of teddy bears — although impressive — was slightly less than the usual amount collected.

Gadomski also said that the honor society will gather more stuffed animals next week from Liberty’s online student community.

“I think it is awesome,” Smith said.

Smith is in her second year at Liberty and will finish this December. She said that this is the first year she has participated in the Teddy Bear Drive.

Gadomski, Smith and ALD Administrative Advisor Bessie Grayson loaded the gifts and delivered them to Pam Enochs, a nurse who accepted the bags of Among the teddy bears was box of coloring books and crayons.

“Oh, we could definitely use those,” Enochs said.

According to Enochs, as long as the nurses have them in stock, they give each child a set of crayons and a coloring book in addition to a teddy bear.

“If there’s a birthday or special something going on, they might get another one,” Enochs said.

One of the nurses who helped unpack the donations said that the children get so excited when they find a stuffed animal sitting on their bed.

Imitating a child, she said, “Oh, this is for me? I get to keep this?”

“They do brighten up so much,” Cathy Goad, pediatric center manager, confirmed. “It brightens up their day.”

One comment

  • Excellent Article. It captured the intent of this service activity and renewed in me the desire to seek more involvement of our membership and student body next year! Thanks!

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