In November 2015, the Counties Manukau policing district in Auckland joined the Gallagher Bassett Gentle Bear initiative.

Gentle Bears have been distributed to police officers and other social agencies and will be given to children in trauma situations.

The Gentle Bear initiative started in South Australia before expanding to Northern Territory and Victoria with bears provided to emergency service personnel.

Paul Easter, GB’s Executive Director – Scheme Development, originally spearheaded the campaign in 2007, having spent 20 years in the South Australian Police where he witnessed firsthand the trauma faced by children following an accident or domestic violence situation.

“GB originally set a goal of seeing Gentle Bears in every emergency service and police vehicle in Australia. We are well on our way to achieving that goal and it is great to see the initiative expanded to our colleagues in New Zealand and beyond. Not a week goes by that I don’t hear stories of success of Gentle Bear” Paul said.

GB’s Managing Director – New Zealand, Craig Furness said “This is a great example of GB’s commitment to giving back to our community. We are proud to support the hard working Police of the Counties Manukau district.”

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