Teddy Bear donations for the Flowery Branch Chiropractic Doctors With a Heart program are accepted through Feb. 20. Donations may be brought to the office at 4875 Hog Mountain Road, Suite D in Flowery Branch. For more information, call 770-967-1900.
Drs. Chris and Tanya Turner are Flowery Branch chiropractors who make no bones about providing comfort, even when it isn’t for one of their patients.
The couple, who own Flowery Branch Chiropractic, are busy collecting teddy bears to be donated to local law enforcement agencies through their Doctors With a Heart program.
The toys will be distributed to children when the officers respond to domestic violence calls or other emergencies involving children.
"This is the first time that our office has done this promotion," Chris Turner said. "The idea is not our own — both of us have served with different public service and humanitarian organizations which would conduct this drive annually — but we wanted to do our own version through our community and our patients."
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is one department that will benefit from the doctors’ efforts.
"The Hall County Sheriff’s Office receives donations of stuffed animals from several organizations. Our officers keep them with them in the event they encounter a child in a traumatic situation," said Col. Jeff Strickland, Hall County chief deputy.
"The officers are able to present the child with a stuffed animal which often brings on a calming effect and allows for a positive rapport between the deputy and the child."
According to local officials, the teddy bears are more than a child’s toy; they can be a useful resource for officers.
"The stuffed animals are often distributed during investigations involving domestic violence, but are used in many other situations such as vehicle accidents, custody issues and other incidents that involve children," said Strickland.
"This is a wonderful tool for our officers when facing difficult situation involving children. We are very thankful that various organizations in our community provide this invaluable resource to the Sheriff’s Office."
The Flowery Branch doctors have set a goal of 500 teddy bears and will continue the drive through Feb. 20. In addition to knowing that they did a good deed for a scared child, donors will also receive a discount on a massage or a free initial consultation and exam.