Moose Lodge holds bear stuffing party for special needs children

By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press 

Christmas will be a little bit more special this year for more than 100 children who received their very own stuffed animal on Sunday afternoon. 
Members of the local Moose Lodge 5029, to include Moose Legion, Moose Riders, and the Women of the Moose teamed up to raise enough money to provide 125 special education students with their very own stuffed animal. 
A few members of the Duncan Oklahoma Moose Riders even attended this year’s event to help. The stuffed animals were provided by Bearables at cost. The Moose Lodge members and Bearables team up each year—this year marks their 3rd year holding the event—to do their best to help provide at least one Christmas present for children and show the kids some holiday spirit. This year’s event was held at the CCISD District Training Facility.
Delighted children moved up and down the row of colorful critters trying to decide which one suited them best. Perhaps they’d pick a purple penguin, or maybe they’d choose a reindeer or perhaps even a fierce dragon. Others chose a stuffed bear, moose, or a colorful unicorn. No matter what their preference, there were plenty of cute and cuddly animals to choose from.
“We do it for the kids,” said BJ Callaway, the owner of Bearables. “Special needs kids get passed over. I don’t pass anybody over. I do it for the kids…If they don’t have anything, they’ll at least have this one thing.”
Callaway said that it’s important to her to show support for the community, but especially for the children.
“It’s worth it every year,” said Alex “Smitty” Smith, President of the Copperas Cove Moose Riders. “They’re absolutely ecstatic about their bear, and then they get to visit Santa Claus.”
Smith said that the event gets bigger and bigger every year and he hopes that it continues to grow. Smith said that he grew up as one of seven siblings and that he remembers a lot of hard times growing up. He remembers that one year a church helped them out, giving them money to help with buying food.
“It made me want to help whenever I could,” said Smith. “The end state is seeing the smile on a kid’s face. The end state is you know that you absolutely made a difference in someone’s life. You can’t beat that…We’re getting something out of it, and I think sometimes that what we get out of it is way more than we give.”
Many of the parents were grateful for the opportunity and appreciative of the thoughtful gesture.
“I think it’s cute,” said Glorimar Santos who brought her kids Jasmine Alvarez (9) and Angel Alvarez (11). “It made me cry a little bit because it’s for the kids that need all the help.”
“It’s cute,” said Jasmine Alvarez about her stuffed unicorn, Unicorn.
“It’s fluffy like my hair,” said Angel Alvarez about his own stuffed bear, Luis.
In addition to choosing and stuffing their very own toy, kids also received a birth certificate for the stuffed animal. They could also visit and talk with Santa and enjoy some cookies provided by the Five Hills Royalty.
“It’s good to see kids with smiles on their faces, and they get to enjoy something that is just specifically for them,” said Five Hills Ambassador Emily Kimball (12).