kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612
DURHAM -- Teddy bears by the hundreds stand ready to get new homes as Durham County sheriff's deputies prepare to visit rest homes Christmas Eve to put smiles on the faces of senior citizens.
And Santa Claus will be there too -- in the person of Maj. Ricky Buchanan, who "plays a great, awesome Santa," according to Capt. Rickey Padgett, who spearheads the Sheriff's Share Bear Christmas.
The effort began on a small scale about 10 years ago when Padgett brought a few bears to rest homes on his own.
Today, the department has gathered more than 1,000 stuffed bears, ranging from babies to waist-high ones.
"It's a great experience, because these senior citizens in rest homes -- their Christmas basically begins when the first person comes through there to say 'Merry Christmas' and it ends when the last one walks out that day," Padgett said.
"They don't get a lot of visitors, and some of them don't have families to visit. And some of them, for whatever reason, may not be there next year."
It's a treat for Padgett, Buchanan and the many other deputies involved in the effort to turn rest homes into places of joy. Word of Santa's pending arrival often spreads through the homes, and excitement is thick in the air.
"When we go to these homes, the residents are actually peeking around corners," he said. "They're waiting for Santa Claus to come in. They run around looking and waiting. They'll start bouncing out of bed. Some of them will be airborne in their beds."
Last year, he said, one woman was refusing to take her medication. But when Santa arrived, "she started taking that medicine as fast as she could."
The department starts gathering the bears Oct. 1, and gets many of them through the sheriff's school resource officers, who work with students to round them up. Padgett also uses his contacts in the community to bring in more. One deputy even brought in 400 bears this year.
The best part for Padgett is "being able to revert back to what Christmas is really about."
"It's about making people happy," he said. "It's about the spirit of giving. And more than anything, it's about teaching everybody that we've gotten into such a state of mind, that it's the little things that mean so much to so many. And the senior citizens sometimes are forgotten in the process."
Padgett said the community's generosity in donating the bears is gratifying, especially in a tough economy.
"That is what makes us such a great country," he said. "Even in trying times, we figure out how to put smiles on the faces of these folks."
