The Lions Club of Guernsey is once again making a donation of “Guernsey” teddies to Guernsey’s ambulance service to give to children in their care.

This follows an original donation of fifty teddies donated in 2023 and this year the Lions Club is making a donation of one hundred teddies.

The teddy bears, wearing traditional blue Guernseys which are embroidered with the Lions Club logo and individually wrapped for hygiene purposes, will be kept on the ambulances for clinicians to give to young children who need extra comfort or distractions following an illness or injury. Young patients will be able to keep the bears and take them home after they leave the care of the ambulance service.

The idea came from former Guernsey Lion Sheila Cunningham who had seen an article in the national Lions magazine where some Lion clubs in the UK had completed a similar project.

Paul Allaway, Youth Chair of the Lions Club of Guernsey said “We are pleased to be able to continue to support this community initiative and we hope that the teddies will not be used very often but when they are we trust that it will bring some comfort to the affected child in addition to the care provided by the clinicians from Ambulance and Rescue team.”

Sonia Guille, Paramedic Station Officer added: “We are really grateful to the Lions Club for their continued support and we’re delighted they’ve decided to donate another hundred teddy bears. The feedback from ambulance crews to the original initiative has been very positive. When a child is unwell or has hurt themselves, we do all we can to reassure them and put them at ease. We’ve seen the difference the Guernsey bears have made to children, by giving them a distraction or providing comfort. This all helps reduce anxiety and can make the child’s treatment and experience much less stressful.”

Similar charity teddy bear schemes have operated in children’s hospitals and ambulance services in other countries and have proved popular and successful.