Tyler, TX Police are Requesting Teddy Bears to Comfort Kids in Need

Would you consider helping Tyler, Texas Police with a very different kind of help? They're looking for teddy bear donations.

Ever since the first teddy bears were created in the very early 1900s, apparently by two men at nearly the same moment, kids and adults alike have found them to be adorable, and in some cases, comforting. Despite the array of new inventions over the years, the teddy bear remains a timeless favorite.

A tiny history of the teddy bear:

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The teddy bear gets its name from President Theodore Roosevelt. It was initially called "Teddy's Bear" after a candy shop owner and apparent inventor named Morris Michtom sent a little soft bear he made to President Roosevelt and asked if he could use the name.

Michtom had been inspired to create the bear and name it after the President after seeing a political cartoon in the paper illustrating how on a hunt in Mississippi, President Roosevelt refused to shoot an American black bear that fellow hunters had clubbed and tied up and asked the President to shoot it. Roosevelt refused and deemed the act unsportsmanlike. After approval, he placed the little bear in his candy shop window and it has been popular ever since.

Gotta love Teddy Roosevelt, ya know? 

ANYWAY, teddy bears have long comforted many a sad child. And so, the Tyler Police Department is asking for teddy bear donations so that, when needed, they may provide upset children with a teddy bear to provide some comfort in stressful situations.

If you're able to donate, they ask you to drop the teddy bears (or any stuffed, cute plush animal) at one of these two locations: