Gainesville's police officers are gathering teddy bears to hand out to the children they encounter while on duty - and they're finding help in the community.

Though the Gainesville Police Department has collected bears for several years to give to kids in stressful accidents, fires and domestic disputes, employees at the First Choice Chiropractic, 1335 Juanita Ave., Gainesville, decided to run a bear drive during the holidays to build up the stock.

"We had an influx of police who are patients, and last year we started choosing a nonprofit organization or charity each year to let patients help with," said Thomas Crumbley, owner and a chiropractor at the center. "I didn't know about this program until one of the police told us about it and said they were running out. It's something fun for us to do but also great for the kids."

Dubbing the program "Bears for Blue" for the blue police uniforms, center staff members brought in bears and encouraged patients to donate some of their own.

"It's really great that officers keep bears with them in case of a crisis and help the kids if they have to put them in a police car for a while," Crumbley said. "They don't need millions of bears, but we thought it would be fun to collect some for them."

At the last count Tuesday, more than 50 bears sat in the waiting room for Gainesville officers to pick up later in the week.

"This is an awesome idea, and it means a lot to us," officer Joe Britte said Wednesday. "It's a great program that goes back as far as I can remember and works well when children are involved. We don't want to scare them, by any stretch of the imagination."

Britte has passed out several bears at safety and community events around Gainesville.

"When a child is involved, we don't want to give a negative persona as a police officer. We're there to assist, not there to intimidate," he said. "By giving out a bear, it helps to ease and smooth the situation. Officers carry bears in their patrol vehicles, and the Criminal Investigations Division has a few for children who may be involved in molestation or rape cases."

Throughout the years, community members have also donated bears directly to the police department or to the Community Service Center on Prior Street.

"Instead of throwing away bears, they can recycle back into the community," Britte said. "I know there's a precious child out there who would appreciate it greatly, and it helps us as officers to build a bond and relationship with children early on in their lives."