The Thin Blue Line is the line of law enforcement officers who stand between us and those who would do us harm. In that service they risk their lives and some fall. One 16-year-old girl, Megan O'Grady, has come up with a way to honor these men and women while comforting the children and other family members left behind by tragedy. She makes teddy bears out of their old uniform shirts.
Image via CBS Denver
O'Grady knows the life these people live on a daily basis because her father is a police officer in Cape Coral, Florida. There is that constant fear of losing him. When she was 14 she heard about the attack that killed 5 Dallas police officers.
Image via Daily Mail
She wanted desperately to reach out and comfort the families of these officers. What could be better than a teddy bear to hug? Not just any bear, but one made from the uniform shirt of the fallen hero. That was how Blue Line Bears began.
Image via Daily Mail
Blue Line Bears, a not-for-profit organization,reaches out to the law enforcement agencies across the country where an officer has fallen to make the necessary arrangements. Over the past two years O'Grady has hand sewn more than 450 bears for these families.
Image via Daily Mail
Last week O'Grady was in Colorado to deliver a dozen bears to the family of Adams County sheriff's deputy Heath Gumm. Gumm was shot and killed in the line of duty in January 2018.
Image via Daily Mail
"I decided to make something that children love and it’s ageless . . . teddy bears," O'Grady told CBS Denver Channel 4. "People still love them when they’re like 80 something, so I wanted to do [what] people of all ages could love and hold."
The bears sport a badge shape on their chests with the officer's last name and badge number on it. They become a part of a poignant, and often painful, memory of a loved one made from shirts that once held their sweat. Now ready to add love and tears. The arms of the bears sport the actual rank and insignia that once graced the uniform shirt.
What a wonderful way to remember and still be able to hug a hero. To donate to the creation of the bears, click here.
By the way, tomorrow is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Hug a police dog, if you dare.
Sources: CBS Denver, ABC News, Daily Mail, Blue Line Bears
