Stuffed Friends began as a visit to the nursing home at Christmastime, dressed as a pastel floral elf with jingle bells. The plan was simple: a guaranteed visit on Christmas Day to all the residents, along with a gift—a stuffed animal.

My grandfather had stayed at that nursing home, and my mother was once the administrator of it. I candy-striped one summer. It would not be an easy visit, but I was really excited about it.

I went with a dear friend, Kevin. He carried the sack of animals and drove a dark green truck. It was Christmas Day, and every single resident was happy to see us. Some wanted us to take them home, and others just wanted to go to the bathroom. Some even hid the animals in their rooms and came out to get another one. It was so cute. We had enough to give out plenty of extras.

I had a great time. We were even able to take some to the local pediatric wards at a couple of the hospitals. This was something I was going to do every year.

Then I decided to do this year-round and supply the police departments and fire departments with stuffed animals for children in difficult situations. So I started calling police departments and explaining the program. It would be a real friend to a child in a time of difficulty. Stuffed animals are real to children, so this was a real solution in a time of crisis.

I had a drop-off center. Mike’s Feed Farm was the place. We did several newspaper articles letting people know where they could donate the Stuffed Friends. Most people don’t throw stuffed animals out, and they liked the idea of them going to a child in trauma.

I supplied over 95 police departments, fire departments, ambulance departments, and even the DOT. Anyone who needed them could get them.

We lived down the street from the crime lab, so when an officer was dropping off some evidence, they could stop by and pick up a big bag full of stuffed friends. Police were at my home all the time. I wondered what the neighbors thought, LOL.

One year, I saved all the tiny stuffed animals for the fire department in our town. They did a great Santa on the fire truck and drove around the town giving out candy, so we gave them a whole bunch of them. The night of the event, they stopped by my home to get some more.

My son had a great visit with Santa, and they got to reload Santa’s bag. It was a great time.

And when I say “we,” I mean me and my son, Korey Francis Walmsley, age 3. He did it with me. He was the spark that gave me life.

One time, some officers came to my home to take me to a big PBA meeting they were having so I could speak to the officers about the program and get it going in more towns.

I met Corporal Carmen Cross of the N.J. State Troopers, and he was so moved by my program that he instructed the representative of the gas company to never, ever shut off my service. They even donated the PBA raffle drawing to my program.

I remember Corporal Carmen well and spoke with him many times on the phone. He was an amazing man. He even gave me one of his gold PBA cards. Trust me, THAT is a Jersey thing. I had several of them from many officers, but the gold card was really something.

I was even invited on the FX Channel as a stuffed animal expert. An officer took me there, and they were supposed to interview both of us, but the previous guest ran over, so the officer never got to speak about the program. It was a real shame because he had to get special permission to bring the squad car into NYC from NJ.

In 1995, I was nominated for the Medal of Honor by one of the departments I supplied. The chief said that none of his officers did anything really outstanding that year, and they decided to nominate me. One department even gave me a Certificate of Achievement.

I was really proud of that program, and the articles often featured my son in the photos as part of the program. He loved giving the bags of teddy bears away to “all the children,” he would say.

He had a good heart, that little one. I miss him always.

I had to stop the program during 1995. I became bedridden with my second child and had to remain in bed for several months. We moved to Pennsylvania shortly after she was born for a quieter life.

The program still continues today at many police departments all over. It continued, and that is all that really matters.

I am blessed to have been a part of such a beautiful plan.

Stuffed Friends: A real friend at a time when a child really needs one.

A few years later, when they found my heart condition, I had massive open-heart surgery and had complications afterward. I had to go by ambulance to the hospital.

The officer who responded, in my hometown, gave my children stuffed animals while the paramedics were getting me ready for transport.

It was a real full-circle moment.

It was really something.

Life is really something.

Have a great day!