First National Bank & Trust program collects 500 stuffed toys for children

Iron Mountain, Mich.-based First National Bank & Trust’s Project Teddy Bear collected more than 500 new stuffed toys this year for local emergency responders, children’s organizations, medical facilities and crisis centers.

According to a press release, donations for the program have been collected annually since 2017 from the Flivver Hockey Teddy Bear Toss event, followed by collections throughout the rest of December. The program makes donations for both Christmastime and again in January for responders using the toys year-round.

Project Teddy Bear has donated more than 2,000 new stuffed toys over the past five years. “Speaking to our local emergency responders and hearing their touching stories about the truly positive effects of giving a child a stuffed animal during an emergency situation reiterates why First National Bank & Trust created Project Teddy Bear,” said FNB&T CFO Matthew Lutz. “That hit very close to home recently when I was in the emergency department with my son and saw his face light up when he was handed a stuffed animal.”