1200 Teddy Bears Were Sent To Massac County...

Children in grades Pre-K, HeadStart, DayCare, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and Second Grade were given teddy bears.

Schools Where Bears Were Donated

Massac County Unit One Schools
Joppa/Maple Grave Schools
Joppa Head Start
Living Hope Christian Day Care

PADUCAH SUN NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ABOUT THE BEARS


Teddy bears to calm kids 

Staff Report

METROPOLIS, Ill.--More than 1,200 Russ brand teddy bears
will be distributed to southern Illinois elementary school students
to help them work through trauma from recent deadly tornadoes. 

"Each one has a printed message that says, ‘I'm your Angel Bear,’"
said the Rev. Richard Keplinger, who was contacted by an anonymous
donor and asked to distribute the bears. "We want to help the kids
work through the emotions of fear and sadness. Not all of these
children have been affected by the tornadoes, but they've seen the
sights and they've heard people talking about them." 

Keplinger, the interim pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Cairo,
said the bears will be given to preschool through second-grade
students at Massac County Unit 1 schools, Grand Chain Elementary
School, Maple Grove Elementary School, Polliwog Place Day Care
Center in Metropolis and the Living Hope Christian School in Karnak. 

Each bear comes with tips for parents on how they can help children
deal with nightmares, stress and questions about tornadoes. 

"The most important thing is that they start talking and communicating,"
Keplinger said. "When they see another storm cloud, they're probably
going to be afraid. You have to talk to them about storms and help
them realize that not every storm is dangerous." 

The May 6 tornado killed two people near Karnak and New Grand
Chain. 

The bears arrived Thursday, Keplinger said. Deliveries started Friday
and will continue next week.