Calendar Club Kamloops delivers bears to help victims of crime

Almost 200 teddy bears will have an extra-special mission this year, thanks to a donation from Calendar Club to Police Based Victim Services.

On Jan. 5, staff from the Aberdeen Mall location of the seasonal store delivered to the Kamloops RCMP nine boxes of the so-called trauma bears.

The soft bruins will be available for police and victim service workers to give to children and adults who have witnessed or experienced tragedy, said Kamloops Police Based Victim Services program manager, Ula Chauret, who accepted the donation from Calendar Club employee Madison Kopytko.

Kopytko said one of her co-workers and friends received a bear from victim services when she was a child, noting it helped her in that moment.

“I think it’s a comfort item for people,” Kopytko said. “It’s a token of a simple act of kindness.”

Each of the nine boxes donated to Police Based Victim Services contained 18 bears, which will be individually packaged in zipper bags and placed in police vehicles, allowing officers to have them available to hand out as they respond to everyday tragedies.

Victim service employees and volunteers will also keep a supply on hand for the people it helps by providing emotional services, crisis intervention, information on community resources and more.

Calendar Club has donated the bears to Kamloops Police Based Victim Services for a number of years, something Chauret said is appreciated.

“It’s always warming,” Chauret said. “The people from Kamloops are generous always.”

The bears were made possible through a donation from Calendar Club and its local customers. Along with finding a home in Police Based Victim Services, a shipment of bears also went to Christmas Amalgamated, the charity that creates hampers for families in need.