Federal prison hosts "Operation Teddy Bear"

Dec. 23—MORGANTOWN — Corrections staffers as Federal Correctional Institution Morgantown recently teamed up with the Morgantown Police Department to collect teddy bears for kids.

Utilizing donations from Chestnut Mountain Ranch, a nonprofit organization, inmates enrolled in a Recreation Department crochet program voluntarily made handmade crocheted teddy bears. These toy bears are then distributed by FCI Morgantown to the Morgantown Police Department where officers give them to children to establish a rapport between the child and the police officer. The teddy bears also help provide a feeling of safety to the children, positively enhance police interactions and allow the inmates to provide a service to the surrounding community.