Medina County Probate and Juvenile Judge Kevin Dunn (pictured), court staff, and minors doing community service kept alive a holiday custom to benefit developmentally disabled children.

Medina County Probate and Juvenile Judge Kevin Dunn (pictured), court staff, and minors doing community service kept alive a holiday custom to benefit developmentally disabled children.

Maintaining year-end holiday customs is a challenge due to the coronavirus crisis, but one court figured out a way to preserve an annual practice that spreads cheer to the less fortunate.

For the 14th straight year, members of the Medina County Probate and Juvenile Court dressed and boxed teddy bears for distribution among developmentally disabled and disadvantaged children in the community.

“The project is always a highlight for our staff, and we need it more than ever this year,” said Judge Kevin Dunn.

Typically, Judge Dunn and court staff would deliver the bears and personalized holiday cards themselves to young kids at the Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities Windfall School. The institution helps people from ages 6 to 21 with developmental disorders. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the court dropped off the boxes at the school for distribution to the students.

Minors required to fulfill community service through the court remained connected by handcrafting holiday cards that accompanied the bears.

Other bears were donated to Medina County Job and Family Services and to wards with the Medina County Volunteer Guardianship Program.

In a safe and socially distanced manner, the bears were accessorized in various costumes with sports and princess themes the most prevalent.

The project started as an idea to provide youth an opportunity to get something more out of court-ordered community service by giving to others. In years past, offenders would assemble bears side-by-side with court representatives, enabling a mentorship dynamic between authority figures and the adolescents. 

“So many of the kids who come into the juvenile court in Medina County have never been part of a charitable effort,” said Tony Miller, the court’s director of programming and grants. “Building something and then seeing the joy of a child who receives it is an experience that has changed some of our troubled youth’s outlook on life.”

Some participants have even volunteered to come back and help with future events because “they were so moved by the experience.”

Given the unique difficulties everyone has faced over the past nine months due to the pandemic, the charitable effort has provided everyone involved an opportunity to gain more gratitude and embrace the seasonal spirit.

“When people look back on the year 2020, I hope they remember the moments they overcame obstacles, the moments they offered a helping hand, and the moments that brought joy,” Judge Dunn said. “This project brings me joy.”