Comfort brigade: Teddy bears bring joy to schoolchildren

COMFORT bears have been helping students at four Bellarine primary schools through challenging situations, thanks to a donation from the Portarlington Drysdale Lions Club.

Throughout the term, students at St Leonards Primary School, Clifton Springs Primary School, Portarlington Primary School and Drysdale Primary School have been able to draw comfort from the teddy bears when they feel sad, anxious, unwell or they’ve had an accident.

The donation of 72 comfort bears was divided among the schools based on their size.

The Lions Club’s Dianne Porter said the bears had been “very well received”, and gave children who needed one, “a friend for the day”.

The Lions Club have previously donated comfort bears to Victoria Police and the SES to help calm children who have experienced car accidents or family violence.

The idea to expand the initiative to the local primary schools was prompted by the daughter of one of the club’s members, a teacher who thought they could also provide benefit to schoolchildren when they’re having a bad day.

“They’re such a sweet little bear… it’s full of love,” Ms Porter said.

“With the Lions’ emblem on them as well, hopefully the children realise that the Lions do something more than cook barbecues.”

Clifton Springs Primary School received a comfort bear for each of their classrooms, as well as one for their First Aid room and one for the principal’s office.

Principal Meg Parker said the comfort bears were a “gorgeous concept” and the children “loved them”.

“They’re something that [the children] can cuddle when they’re feeling a bit sad about things, and it helps them,” she said.

“In our classrooms, we have what we call ‘signs of regulation’, so we teach children how to work out when they’re feeling out of sorts and start to give them strategies and one of those is using sensory tools.

“We teach kids when to use them and how to use them appropriately as well.”

She said it was incredible to see how something so little could make a difference “at a time of crisis”.

“They’re certainly doing their job; it’s like a whole brigade of bears that are out there comforting kids.”

“We can’t thank the Lions Club enough for what they do out there in the community.

“All our volunteers out there make the world go round with the things they do and they’re unsung heroes in lots of ways.”