Moose Lodge donates Tommy Moose dolls to fire department

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

The Loyal Order of Moose Fernley Lodge #2468 recently donated 48 stuffed Tommy Moose dolls to the North Lyon County Fire Protection District for district staff to give to child patients receiving their services.  Several years ago the Lodge donated these same toys with a very positive response.

Members of the Moose Lodge presented the toys to Fire Chief Scott Huntley and several other emergency personnel.

Tommy Moose is a friendly, playful, cuddly moose doll whose sole purpose is to bring comfort to children in times of stress, uncertainty or anxiety. He personifies one of the cornerstone tenets of the Loyal Order of the Moose: caring for children.

Tommy originated as a Moose community service project in Connecticut and soon spread throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Since 2002, more than 100,000 Tommy Moose plush dolls have been donated to shelters, hospitals and emergency workers, who in turn deliver them to children in need of some comfort when facing life’s biggest challenges,

The Tommy Moose character has grown and developed beyond the comforting plush toy program. Tommy’s heart-warming “origin” appears in a unique children’s Color-Along Story Book® a format that combines an easy to read story in pages suitable for youngsters to color.

Tommy also appears on complimentary bookmarks, available at many public and school libraries courtesy of Moose Lodges and Chapters in the U.S. and Canada. The bookmark also includes a list of safety tips for children to follow while using the Internet.

A line of infant through toddler clothing has been developed bearing Tommy’s image, and the Tommy Moose life size mascot appears throughout the country in parades and events, meeting and greeting children and posing for pictures.