Woman donates stuffed animals to Homewood Police Department

Homewood police officers now have an extra passenger riding in their vehicles: a stuffed bear, dog, frog or other stuffed toy.

Meredith Asher, a Bessemer resident who grew up in Homewood, runs Cops We Care, an organization that collects stuffed animals to donate to area police departments. The toys can be used by officers to comfort children after a wreck, a parent's arrest, a house fire or other scary situations.

The project started seven years ago, when Our Lady of Sorrows had a large number of stuffed animals left over after its July 4 rummage sale. Asher made some calls and connected with the Birmingham Community Policing and Revitalization division to donate these leftover toys.

Since then, Asher has collected new and gently used toys from a number of donors to give to Birmingham, Hoover and other police departments. The BCPR, she said, has used the toys not only in emergency situations but also to give away in low-income areas of town "bridging the gap between the community and the police."

Along with individual donations in person and on the Cops We Care Facebook page, Asher said OLS continues to be a major source of donations. Alabama Power, Rojo, Hoover Tactical Firearms, Sneaky Pete's downtown and Innovation Depot have also hosted donation drop-offs.

Asher said she decided to donate to Homewood Police "since I grew up here." Homewood Police officer Kerah Hyatt, who helped with the toy drop-off on Jan. 25, said they frequently encounter kids in unfortunate circumstances and something as small as a stuffed animal can make them feel better. 

Asher said she hopes "that if a child is afraid or scared, that it comforts them."

"I think sometimes kids are scared of policemen. The only time they see police is when something bad happens," Asher said.