St. Augustine Elks Lodge #829 heard that the St. John’s Sheriff’s Department needed a donation of bears for its Cuddly Care program. Lodge member Cathy Walsh ordered the bears and took donations from lodge members as well. Leading Knight, Connie Sarnowski, delivered the 47 bears to the sheriff’s department. The mission of the program is to raise the spirits of patients at Flagler Hospital and local nursing homes and has been in existence for nearly 20 years. Many organizations, businesses and private citizens have generously contributed to this program by collecting hundreds of thousands of stuffed animals that have brought smiles to numerous patients’ faces.
St. Augustine Lodge Leading Knight, Connie Sarnowski, delivers teddy bears to Deputy Sharon Borra and Community Affairs Specialist, James Desmond, for the St. John’s Sheriff’s Department cuddly bear program.