‘Tommy the Moose’ toys give children comfort

ALBANY — Hundreds of “Tommy the Moose” plush toys were presented to first responders with the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office, the Dougherty County Police Department, the Albany Police Department, the Albany Fire Department and Dougherty County EMS Service on Friday at the Albany Civic Center.

The toys, which are used to help first responders deal with traumatic events involving children, were presented by the Albany Moose Lodge Family Center on Philema Road.

“On behalf of Moose Lodge 1285 of Albany, we are donating 180 ‘Tommy Mooses’ for the law enforcement and paramedics to hand to children or physically/mentally challenged adults during an accident or to give comfort during anxiety,” said George Johnson, governor of the Albany Moose Lodge. “This has been done since 2002, and Tommy is named after Tommy Hatcher, the Moose Past Supreme Governor in Connecticut that came up with the idea. There have been over 200,000 of them given out.

“The Albany Moose Lodge has been here since 1956, and this is one of our large community service projects that will aid and help law enforcement and paramedics make the children feel more relaxed in a bad situation.”

According to lodge officials, Tommy Moose is one of the most successful and effective community service initiatives sponsored by the Moose organization. The men and women of the Moose conduct community service programs throughout North America valued at between $75 million and $100 million annually.

“We (members of the Moose) want to say thank you,” said Johnson. “Thank you for the service. All law enforcement, paramedics and the fire department, God bless y’all.”

Dougherty County Sheriff Kevin Sproul said, “This is awesome. From the moment we met in February about this proposal to try to do this with the various agencies, I was very excited. First responders don’t always get to the best situations; it could have been a shooting or a car wreck or a fire.

“On a personal side, a personal story, my wife and children were in an accident years ago, and my 5-year-old daughter was beside herself. They had been in an accident out off of Holly (Drive) and (U.S. Highway) 19, and the county police responded. They had a little stuffed animal that they gave my daughter, and it calmed her down and had a soothing effect.”

Sproul offered other examples in which the toys might have an impact.

“We have also been in so many situations,” Sproul said, “where we have had to remove mom or dad on a criminal warrant or something of that nature, and it leaves a bad taste in the mouth, so to speak. It is a very horrific event for children to see their mom or dad being taken away, or their mom or dad, aunt or uncle or grandparent in a car wreck, or lose everything in a fire. So, this will benefit all of the agencies very much, and I am so thankful and appreciative to the Moose Lodge for bringing this to us.”

Moose International is an organization of more than one million members and more than 1,500 service centers located in 1,400 separate communities. The Moose organization dates back to 1888 and is proud of its mission to serve children and seniors, to support communities through service programs and to bring together members in activities for all ages.

“The emergency responders are excited,” said Johnson. “It is something that doesn’t have a cost to it, plus it assists them in making a situation better. For a child to take possession of a small stuffed animal, usually you will see a smile on their face.”

Sproul agreed.

“This is a good side of things,” the sheriff said, “to show that we do go beyond normal everyday efforts to try to soothe someone or make them feel better in a bad situation.”