Charity to Be Honored for Teddy Bear Project

NA’AMAT USA, the national branch of an international charity, will be recognized by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday for its role in an award-winning program that provides stuffed animals for Los Angeles’ abused and neglected children.

In July, the county received the National Assn. of Counties Achievement Award for Teddy Bear Patrol, a joint project of NA’AMAT and the Department of Children and Family Services.

On Tuesday, at a supervisors meeting, the county will officially thank NA’AMAT for its leadership in the program.

NA’AMAT is a Hebrew acronym for Movement of Working Women and Volunteers. The organization assists Israeli families and does some work with local agencies.

“We use the teddy bears to break the trauma when we have to remove a child from their home and bring them into the system,” said Kai Parker, coordinator of special programs for the Department of Children and Family Services.

“It’s an outstanding program. It doesn’t cost us any money and brings the community into the business of protecting our children,” said Parker, who pointed out that the county agency cares for more than 70,000 abused and neglected children.

“This is some of the most rewarding work we’ve ever done,” said Miriam Hearn, director of NA’AMAT’s western region, which has headquarters in Encino. “It’s also frustrating because there are always so many new cases.”

Hearn said that NA’AMAT has enlisted the support of community groups and businesses, enabling it to exceed its original goal of donating 1,000 stuffed animals in the first year of the program.

“It turns out, in the first year and a half, we’ve collected close to 10,000,” Hearn said. “We are trying to give children who have nothing a small safety net, something to hold on to that is their own.”

For more information, call NA’AMAT at (818) 981-1298.