BYRON, Ga. — A heart attack, a fire, or a car accident is hard enough for an adult to handle, much less a child, but many first responders hand out teddy bears to help kids cope.
One woman is doing a teddy bear drive, and you can help.
Selena Hall is on a mission to help kids.
"I had a really good friend pass away in November of 2017 and the Perry Fire Department gave his little girl a stuffed animal, and she carried that thing around with her for weeks," she said.
Jeremy Coonfield was Selina Hall's friend, and that simple act of kindness by firefighters sparked an idea.
"We have a lot of cute little girl stuff, different little poodles, teddy bears," she said as she pulled stuffed animals from a box.
Hall is hoping for a lot more to fill up her box in Byron.
"I'm going to collect animals for the entire month of March from the first through the 30th, which is the last Saturday we'll be open in March, and then, the first of April, I'm going to separate them and take them. I'm going to start in Byron -- I'm going to start with the Byron Police Department and the Byron Fire Department, and if I have enough I'm going to spread out through Peach County," she explained.
It is standard operating procedure for firefighters in Byron to hand out teddy bears in a trauma situation, but right now, they're running low, so this drive comes at a good time.
Byron Fire Chief Rachel Mosby says she's appreciative of the work.
"I was actually surprised to find out about this, that it was going on, so I imagine it's going to help replenish our supplies," Mosby said.
Mosby figures they'd love to have 3 bears on each truck and enough in the station to keep giving the furry critters out to kids.
"It's what it means for the kids when mom and dad's been in a wreck and having to go to the hospital or when they've had a fire in their home. A lot of times, kids are very scared, even with a comforting parent there," Mosby explained.
It's a fitting tribute for a friend that will help kids in the future.
"If it catches on and goes well, I'd like to do it more than once a year," Hall projected.
You can drop off medium-to-new stuffed animals to the Byron Welcome Center anytime in March.
They are open Monday through Saturday, and you can find them in the Big Peach shopping center in Byron.