Chippewa Co. Sheriff’s Office gets hundreds of stuffed animal donations

SAULT STE. MARIE — Ask and you shall receive.

A simple post on Facebook asking for help got a huge response.

A couple of weeks ago, Chippewa County Sheriff Mike Bitnar posted that his office needed to replenish their supply of stuffed animals that are handed out to children during traumatic situations.

On Special Needs Day at the Chippewa County Fair, the sheriff’s office also makes lunch for kids with special needs and hands out dozens of stuffed animals.

They were down to about 100 stuffies, but Bitnar’s Facebook post got that number over 1,000. His administrative assistants surprised him Monday by filling his office with all the donations.

“Here in the Eastern U.P., if you need something and put something out that you are looking for help, the people come and just donate like crazy,” said Bitnar.

The Chippewa County Fair is Aug. 25 to Sept. 1, and Special Needs Day is Aug. 29. Make sure you stop by the sheriff’s office booth!