Encino : Goup Donates Teddy Bears to Abused Tots

A private social-services group is working to make sure that abused and neglected children have a special friend with them at one of the most difficult moments of their lives.

This week, the San Fernando Valley Council of NA’AMAT USA delivered about 300 teddy bears and other stuffed animals to officials from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services at NA’AMAT’s offices on Ventura Boulevard.

The stuffed animals will be given to children who have been taken out of their homes due to parental abuse or neglect and are about to be placed in foster homes.

“It’s a friend for children whose world contains very few friends,” said Miriam Hearn, Western states director of NA’AMAT, an international organization that advocates for women’s rights and the welfare of women, children and families.

The delivery brought the number of stuffed animals NA’AMAT has donated to the department to approximately 1,000 in the past two months, Hearn said. The bears were gathered during a collection drive at Sherman Oaks Fashion Square and Santa Monica Place malls.

Debbie Guiloff-Taklender, the county’s regional resource coordinator for the Valley, said the teddy bears are important to the children who receive them.

“They feel a certain warmth, they can cuddle up, they can be their friend,” she said.

The collection drive is continuing. People who want to donate teddy bears may call (818) 981-1298.