TIFTON — The wife of an officer with the Tifton Police Dept. believes children who are traumatized need a little comfort, so she is asking the public to donate small stuffed animals during her Teddy Bear Drive.

Katrina Spires, wife of TPD officer Chris Spires, said she had considered conducting the drive three years ago when her husband began working at the TPD. It took a recent fatal wreck on I-75 that her husband worked to convince her to organize the project.

Spires said a 4-year-old boy who was a passenger in one of the cars involved in the accident was not injured but he was “scared to death, even with his mommy there.” She said that law enforcement handling the tragic accident had to search for a long time for something to help soothe the little boy and take his mind off of the traumatic event.

“None of our local law enforcement have ‘loveys’ in their cars for instances such as this one and I hope to change that,” Spires said.

Officers can also give children the stuffed animals in other emergency cases, such as someone’s house burning.

“Kids can be traumatized and I can’t imagine being in that position and wanting some comfort and not being able to find it,” Spires said.

Spires said she will work with the Citizens for the Safety of Children, sponsor of the Kid’s Safety Expo event to be held Oct. 11 at the Tifton Mall. She will kick off her Teddy Bear Drive at that event. On Oct. 13, she will be placing collection containers at businesses and other locations throughout the community. The boxes will be checked and emptied every Monday and the final pick-up will be Dec. 15. The stuffed animals will be placed in squad cars by Jan. 1.

Spires said any stuffed animal will work as long as it is new and can fit inside a one-gallon size Ziplock bag or is already packaged in a bag that size.

Those businesses that have already committed to being a collection site include the City Complex, City Hall, The Medicine Shop, Affordable Rx Solutions, the Tifton Gazette and the Tifton Police Dept.