ROCKINGHAM — Members of a local family fraternity are hoping to help Richmond County children cope with traumatic situations.
On Monday, leaders of the Rockingham Moose Lodge sent Sheriff James Clemmons back to his office with a box of Tommy Moose stuffed animals.
The toys are handed out to police and fire departments “to bring comfort to children in times of stress, uncertainty, or anxiety,” according to the website, TommyMoose.org.
The website goes on to say that the figure “personifies one of the cornerstone tenants of the Loyal Order of Moose: caring for children.”
The three primary Moose missions, according to a brochure, are:
helping children in need get a second chance at life;
helping senior Moose members through their retirement years; and
helping communities to be better places in which to live.
Tommy Moose started as a public service project in Connecticut and more than 100,000 plushes have been distributed to shelters, hospitals and emergency workers across the U.S. and Canada since 2002, according to the website.
The character has expanded to be featured in coloring books, bookmarks and a clothing line.
The Rockingham Moose Lodge is also donating toys to the Rockingham Police Department and Cordova Fire and Rescue, for a total of 39 to three agencies.
