American Legion Provides Children Cuddly Friend For When Things Get Scary

One organization which does a lot to reach out to children and their families in such circumstances is the American Legion. A particularly well-received project they sponsor is the distribution of "Spinoza Bears," a soft, furry therapeutic stuffed bear from "the North Woods." The bears are equipped with an internal CD player and headsets allowing them to talk to the children "from the heart." Most of the nine tapes available to play through the bears, talks to children about what to expect during their medical care and to offer comfort. Bears are also used in nursing homes and other care settings for patients of all ages.

Sons Of American Legion Squadron 283 representative Tom Harris and Sylvia Curnutte of Auxiliary Unit 283 brought 18 of the bears to the Naval Hospital's Pediatrics Clinic on Dec. 20 to be distributed to children with ongoing health challenges. These range from multiple corrective surgeries to continued care for life altering conditions such as cerebral palsy, cardiac and pulmonary conditions. Besides the Spinoza Bears the American Legion program provided two stuffed dogs from a line called Josh and friends. Josh comes in his own dog house and is similarly equipped as the bears but is used to explain to children what to expect if they're going into surgery.

The Spinoza Bear seems to be a hit with 3-year-old Martina Schmidt who listens to what he has to say through his accompanying earphones. Photo by Martina Schmidt

They also brought 120 children's books which the clinic can provide to children who have a deployed parent. These were titled "Daddy You're My Hero" and "Mommie You're My Hero." Harris said the American Legion Post can continue to provide such items on an ongoing basis.

The Spinoza Company has been around since 1984 and the bear was created by a special education teacher and a communication specialist. The company and their employees saw a need to help children and they did something about it. They started producing these bears in 2004 and thousands have benefited since. Harris said the American Legion saw the value of these items and was proud to take on the role of distributing them for free to children in both civilian and military hospitals.

Hospital Commanding Officer Capt. Raquel Bono and Lt. Martyn Rothermel, a Naval Hospital Jacksonville pediatrics nurse was on hand to accept the items for the children. They helped distribute the bears to several children regularly seen at the clinic.

Bono said that she greatly appreciated the support that such organizations provide to our military families.

Along with the Spinoza Bears the American Legion also provided 120 copies of the children's books "Daddy You're My Hero" and "Mommie You're My Hero" for children of deployed parents. Photo by HM1 Michael Morgan

Marcarena Schmidt accepted a Spinoza Bear for her three-year-old daughter Torsten. Schmidt said, "Martina listens to her bear daily, especially when I'm driving." She said, "She has something in common with Daddy who also just got an Ipod." Martina's dad is Lt. Cmdr. Torsten Schmidt of HSL-48, based at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.

Rothermel, the Pediatric Clinic's division officer, said he can see how the items the American Legion provided could be very helpful in helping a child cope.

Information on the Spinoza Bear program is available at the company website Spinozabear.com.