CLYDE — A family’s home is claimed by a fire in the middle of the night. All members of the family get out safely but watch in horror as everything in their life goes up in smoke.
Amid the controlled chaos of firefighters and rescuers running back and forth, battling the blaze and tending to any injuries, a young child sits in the grass light from the flames flicker over his face. He’s terrified, as are his parents who are trying to deal with the shock.
A firefighter kneels next to the little boy and hands him a stuffed animal. The boy grabs the toy and hugs it tightly to his chest.
No, it doesn’t make everything better, but it gives the child a little piece of mind and security.
Last Thursday evening, the Clyde Moose Lodge donated six dozen such toys to the Clyde Fire Department, Clyde Police Department and Sandusky County EMS for just that purpose.
The plush toys are little moose named Tommy Moose, the mascot for Moose International. It’s a program that the international organization has been running for a number of years, according to Clyde lodge junior governor Mike Golembiowski.
“This is a regular thing that Moose International runs,” Golembiowski said. “A long time ago this was a thing in Clyde, but over time it faded away. I figured this was a good time to get it going again.”
The newly reinstated program at the Clyde Moose Lodge is just part of an effort to get the organization’s name out in the community, according to Golembiowski.
“A lot of people wonder what the Moose Lodge is, and we’re trying to get a program going where we are more involved in the community so people can see the lodge isn’t just a bar,” he said. “It’s actually a place to bring the whole family. We’re trying to get the name out and promote ourselves as taking care of the community.”
Handing a child a stuffed animal during a time of crisis may seem like an insignificant gesture to some, but according to Sandusky County EMS chief Jeff Jackson, that’s far from the case.
“Hopefully it distracts the kids from the moment,” Sandusky County EMS chief Jeff Jackson said. “It keeps them calm and allows us to get some things done with them. It also brings a little reassurance to the child. It gives them something to hold and hug, especially in a car crash where their favorite stuffed animal isn’t around.”
The question is though, does it actually work?
According to Clyde fire chief Craig Davis, it absolutely does.
“I never really had to experience that until probably about a month ago. We were on the turnpike for a roll-over accident, and there was a little girl, probably about five or six years old,” Davis said. “She wasn’t hurt bad, just scared. We had her back with EMS, and I went and got one of the stuffed animals we had on one of the trucks and took it to her. Her eyes just lit up. She held it and hugged it really tight.
“It was a piece of security for her. She was scared; she didn’t know what was going on, and by getting that animal, it gave her something to cling to. It was a priceless moment.”
The child is given the toy and keeps it, which is important, according to Golembiowski.
“The child keeps the doll; we don’t want it back. They can take it to the hospital with them and take it back home. It’s something that consoles them throughout the whole thing. It really works wonders.”
The Clyde Moose Lodge plans on continuing the stuffed animal donation program from now on.
“Both the men’s and women’s sides of the organization bought and donated a few dozen of the stuffed animals,” Golembiowski said. “Now we have a regular program that people can donate to, which will give us the opportunity to continually donate and give these out.
“Whenever the police, fire and rescue departments need more of the animals, we’ll be able to get more and donate them.”
While he hopes they won’t need to ever use them, Davis said the various departments are thankful for the lodge’s generosity.
“It is an important thing when an organization donates something like this because it does have an impact,” Davis said. “Thankfully, and we knock on wood when we say this, we haven’t had too many situations that call for those animals, but when we do, they’re very handy.”
