Volunteers turn Kennewick police uniforms into a different type of protection

A Hermiston High School student was in the middle of a fight for her life when she got a special group of visitors.

Kennewick’s police chief, a commander and a sergeant stopped by her room in the pediatric care area with a special teddy bear.

The patient, Jasmine Ellwood, is the daughter of a Hermiston police officer, and the bear is first given to a patient in Kadlec’s Don and Lori Watts Pediatric Center.

“All too often children find themselves fighting a long-term illness,” Kennewick police said. “Jasmine was the first recipient of our bear. Jasmine knows that the Kennewick Police Department is behind you, helping you to a speedy recovery.”

Jasmine’s fight against bone cancer has drawn support from people in her hometown and given a chance to the Kennewick Police Department to reveal the efforts of two volunteers who are giving new life to old police uniforms.

The officer organizing the effort, Sgt. Aaron Clem, came up with the idea based on the work of local volunteer Annette Kuhl and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.

Kuhl has been turning old uniforms into bears for patients in hospice for months, and Wilson has made frequent visits to Seattle’s Children’s Hospital.

“I thought it would be nice if we could do something for sick and struggling children,” he said.

Kuhl brought in the pattern she uses, and two other volunteers, Debbie Espinoza and Jeanne Murphy, began making the bears.

The sergeant contacted Jenny Jones, a certified child life specialist at Kadlec. Her job is to make children in the pediatric center feel better. This program provides a special morale boost for children suffering either from a sudden severe illness or a chronic long-term ailment.

The bears are delivered to kids by police officers.

“This is not just a teddy bear. It’s a bear made out of a police uniform,” Jones said. “When I have a kid that I think would benefit from it and a visit from Kennewick police, I can reach out to Sgt. Clem and they will do their best to assemble a team to visit.”

These efforts to boost morale have real results for children who are sick, Jones said. Children who are anxious, depressed or struggling tend to be sicker for longer, while those who are encouraged and doing “normal” kid things get better faster.

For Jasmine, the last update on the GoFundMe page said she was going chemotherapy in early September. The bear and the visit left a positive impression with the Hermiston Police Department.

“Though the size of our two communities is significantly different, the care and respect we have for each other is incredible,” Chief Jason Edmiston said. “Thank you Chief Hohenberg for taking the time to visit Jasmine.”

Jasmine’s mother and father have taken time off from work to spend it with their daughter. People can donate to the GoFundMe campaign at bit.ly/EllwoodFunrdaiser.