In Neenah, Wis., the local police department runs a program called Stuffed Hugs, which collects gently used stuffed animals to give to area children.
Recently, the department joined forces with Oshkosh Express Laundry Center – a full-service vended laundry in Oshkosh, Wis. – to ensure that the donated toys were properly cleaned and disinfected. The laundry cleaned hundreds of stuffed animals – using an entire row of double-load, high-speed washers with ozone injection.
“We jumped on board when we were approched by the Neenah P.D. to help out,” said Karen Cooley, manager of Oshkosh Express Laundry Center, which is owned by Continental Girbau Inc. “We’ve got a row of washers that automatically inject ozone into every load to ensure thorough disinfection. Because our machines generate high extract speeds, we were able to wash and dry the toys in less than 45 minutes.”
“There are kids in our lobby every day due to child exchange, custody and abuse issues,” explained Neenah P.D. Community Liaison Officer Stuart Zuehls. “Thanks to our Stuffed Hugs program, we can give them a stuffed animal to brighten their day. Officers have had stuffed animals in the trunks of their police cars for years as well. They give them out to children they see in need of them in the community.”
Prior to the laundry helping out, even slightly dirty stuffed animals were thrown out, according to Zuehls.
“Now we won’t need to discard any stuffed animals,” Zuehls said. “The clean toys will be given to officers to refill their squads, and we will keep the give-away box full in our lobby.”
For information on how to donate stuffed toys to the Stuffed Hugs program, visit: www.ci.neenah.wi.us/department/police/.
