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Children's hospital gets 'beary' nice donation

The teddy bears are going to make a lot of kids happy at Geisinger Janet Weis Children's Hospital.

DANVILLE, Pa. — Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, children are no longer allowed to bring stuffed animals with them to the hospital.

Some teddy bears will make a lot of kids happy at Geisinger Janet Weis Children's Hospital near Danville. Five hundred Build A Bears were donated on Monday to the hospital.

"When kids are going into the hospital to get procedures done, their anxiety is already heightened, so how do they bring it down?" said Scott Vogel, owner of Emergi-Clean Incorporated in Rahway, New Jersey.

Vogel's company specializes in biohazard cleanup. Some of his clients are based in central Pennsylvania. He started this teddy bear program three years ago but says this year is more important than ever. Because of the pandemic, children are not allowed to bring their own stuffed animals into the hospital.

"That's why we ended up doing this a little bigger this year. That's because we understand that there's a lot more kids that can't bring that comfort level, that object they want to hold during those procedures," Vogel said.

"It puts a smile on the kids' faces and makes them forget they're in the hospital for just a few seconds, hopefully even longer. It also helps the families, helps the parents see their child smile again," said Allison Naumann, Geisinger Giving Coordinator.

Because of COVID-19, Geisinger has more restrictions on donations. The hospital cannot accept stuffed animals unless they come directly from the manufacturer.

"This group followed all those protocols. They reached out and got these directly from the manufacturer. They haven't been opened, haven't been touched, didn't come directly from a store. We're really trying to limit how many people touch these items before they come in," said Naumann. 

Vogel also donated bears to other children's hospitals. His goal for next year is 10,000 bears.

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