MOOSEHEART, IL, July 7 - There will come a time in the future when a Kane County Sheriff's Department officer will find himself or herself in a situation where a child is distraught over the events that have just happened in their young life.

Whether the child is dealing with tragedy to their friends or family, or something traumatic that they have just seen, the officer will be in a situation where some calming influence is helpful.

It was for just those situations that the Moose fraternity's Tommy Moose program was designed six years ago, and it was with that idea in mind that Mooseheart, IL Lodge 2655 donated four dozen Tommy Moose plush dolls to Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez on Monday, July 7.

"It allows the officers to help calm children who are affected by traumatic events that are beyond their control," Perez said. "It enables us to break the ice and maybe help us deal with the situation better."

Perez said there was a time before he became Kane County Sheriff when there was always a Tommy Moose plush doll in every of the department's cars.

Conceived in 2003, the Tommy Moose program has proved to be one of the most popular in the fraternity's history. Projections from Moose International's Catalog Sales Department are that the 100,000th Tommy Moose doll will ship this fall to somewhere in North America.

"We had them in the cars if there were bad accidents or incidents where children were exposed to things they shouldn't be exposed to," Perez said. "Anything that will either lessen the pain for a child or put a smile on their face is good. In this case, hopefully it's both."

Officers of Lodge 2655 made the presentations to Perez and Kane County Undersheriff Steve Siman. Helping with those presentations were some Mooseheart children and the life-size Tommy Moose costumed-character, a prototype of a future feature to the Tommy Moose program.

"We had talked about it before, and our Community Service Chairman (and Jr. Past Governor), Gary Urwiler, asked if we could donate them to the Kane County Sheriff's Department," Lodge 2655 Governor Ron Ahrens said. "We chose them because the Kane County Sheriff's Department does a lot for Mooseheart Child City & School."

Ahrens said the size of the donation was based on a desire to have a Tommy Moose plush doll in every of the Sheriff's Department's squad cars.  "We thought of giving them a couple of cases and then replenishing them," Ahrens said. "We found out they have 48 cars, so we went ahead and added a couple of cases."

Perez noted that Mooseheart is in an unincorporated portion of Kane County, and therefore falls into the Kane County Sheriff's Department jurisdiction for policing--above and beyond that provided by the campus security staff.

"This is our responsibility," Perez said. "We've always taken a special care of Mooseheart. Not that we neglect the other areas of the county. But this is a special place for all of us."

Mooseheart Child City & School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia , IL , between Illinois Route 31 and Randall Road .
  
Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.1 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in more than 1,800 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S. , Canada , Great Britain and Bermuda . Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.
  
Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, vocational training and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.
  
Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.
  
Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 230 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a fully functioning branch of Fifth Third Bank.
  
In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville , FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $75 million worth of community service programs annually.

Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.mooseintl.org, www.mooseheart.org ., www.moosehaven.org , or call 630-966-2229.