CREATURE COMFORT TEDDY BEARS DONATED FOR TRAUMATIZED KIDS.

Byline: Marci Wormser Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley children injured in car crashes or involved in traumatic events will be given stuffed animals for consolation, thanks to a donation Monday from a camping club.

Lazy Daze Caravan Club, made up of Lazy Daze RV owners, donated 300 stuffed animals to California Highway Patrol offices in the Antelope Valley, Barstow, Bishop and Needles as part of the club's Highway Hugs project.

``The bears have been earmarked for the desert areas of Southeast California ... because of the increased response time of emergency services and the severity of the collisions,'' said Laureta Gibbs. Gibbs, along with her husband, Joe, chairs the local Highway Hugs project.

The project was conceived after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Laureta Gibbs said. Club members decided to donate teddy bears to children in New York, and the success of the project caused them to make it an annual event and to shift the focus of the donations to the CHP, Laureta said.

``We wanted to do something for the kids,'' Joe said. ``We all have grandkids. We're very youth-oriented.''

This marks the second year the club has donated the stuffed animals to local CHP offices, Laureta said.

The Lancaster CHP office was given 50 stuffed bears, rabbits, dogs, unicorns and lions. Each of the station's 16 patrol cars will be stocked with at least three of the fuzzy animals.

``There are so many times on the road there's a distraught kid, and it's nice to have a distraction,'' said CHP Officer Matt Gibb, who works at the Lancaster office and is the Gibbses' son.

CHP Capt. Brian Smith, commander of the Lancaster station, agrees. ``We've had programs in the past where it really makes a big difference,'' he said.

After an officer presents a stuffed animal to a young victim of a car crash or domestic violence, the child is able to turn away from the trauma to his or her new cuddly friend, Smith said.

``It gives them security and it shows them, too, that somebody cares about them,'' he said.

Although several organizations have donated stuffed bears in the past, the Caravan Club is the only organization that currently donates stuffed toys to local CHP stations, Smith said.

``It really helps us to have organizations like this,'' Smith said. ``We may look like the heroes out on the scene, but to us, they're the real heroes.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Laureta and Joe Gibbs, at left, chair Highway Hugs, which gave stuffed animals to area CHP offices. From right, CHP Officer Matt Gibbs, volunteer Joan Carney, Lt. Andria Witmer and Capt. Brian Smith help load the bears.

(2 -- color) Laureta Gibbs, left, and CHP volunteer Joan Carney pile stuffed animals into a vehicle for area CHP offices.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer