Jessica Carscadden (center) with members of the Long Beach Police and Fire Departments, and the 85 bags of stuffed animals she donated today. Photo courtesy of the Long Beach Fire Department.

One child is working to make the lives of thousands of other children brighter by donating toys to Southern California public safety departments, including 85 bags of stuffed animals that she donated to the Long Beach Police and Fire Departments today.

Jessica Carscadden, 12 of 4S Ranch in San Diego County, started We Care Bears because she “wants every child who is scared to have a bear to huggle.”

The toys, ranging from stuffed bears to stuffed penguins, will be placed in patrol and rescue vehicles, as well as at LBPD and LBFD facilities. From there, they will be given to children involved in traumatic situations.

“We live across the street from a fire station so I thought about giving the local police and fire departments bags of stuffed animals to keep in the trucks of the cars and trucks,” Carscadden said. “That way they could give them to kids who may be scared and injured.”

To learn more about We Care Bears or to donate unneeded, gently used stuffed animals, click here.