Teddy Bears To Texas 'Show Some Love' From Douglas Firefighters

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — Douglas County’s new fire chief is starting his tenure with a community-service project … for Texas.

As part of Bear Hugs for Texas, Chief Roderick Jolivette is encouraging Douglas County residents and business owners to drop off new small stuffed teddy bears at any of the 10 county fire stations or headquarters office. The teddy bears will then be sent to an Austin, Texas, fire station, where they will be distributed to children who suffered after an unexpected cold snap disabled the state’s power grid.

“It is a symbol to show we are thinking about them,” Jolivette said to The Douglas County Sentinel. “We didn’t want to do water just because of the logistics of it. We wanted to relieve some of the stress that those kids are going through right now in Texas. We want to show Texas some love.”

The teddy bear donation campaign started Feb. 22. It ends March 8 with a community-wide Zoom call before the teddy bears are shipped to Texas.

“During a time of crisis, teddy bears help bring calm to children and allow them to feel safe during traumatic situations,” said Rick Martin, spokesperson for the Douglas County Fire Department. “It’s not unusual for fire departments to help one another in support of solidarity no matter where that fire department is located in the United States.”

A collection tote bag for contactless acceptance of donations has been placed at each fire station and headquarters office. Drop-off times are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and at headquarters from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A complete list of addresses for all ten fire stations and the headquarters office can be found on Douglas County’s website, www.celebratedouglascounty.com.

For more information, contact Rick Martin, director of communications for Douglas County, at rickmartin@co.douglas.ga.us.

Read the story in The Douglas County Sentinel.