The idea began in Southland when the Invercargill Lions Club gave their local St John ambulance staff soft toys as a way of calming down stressed patients, particularly children.
Kevin Wall was a member of the Invercargill Lions when they started this initiative before moving to Wānaka six months ago. Having seen how successful the toy lions were in Invercargill, Mr Wall saw the perfect opportunity to continue this legacy in his new home town.
He had observed that young children and even the elderly had appreciated having a distraction in stressful situations.
"We know it helps keep patients calm and lets the operator do their job," he said.
Mr Wall presented the idea to the Wānaka Lions Club not long ago and was able to get sponsorship from a medical trust in Invercargill.
Last week, the club handed over boxes containing 500 soft toy lions to Wanaka St John.
Wanaka St John chairwoman Dell Taylor was happy to welcome the toys and was hopeful it would help with some of their patients.
"We’re very appreciative of the Lions’ gesture ... we get more older people, but we get some kids too," she said.
Mr Wall said the club would be interested in continuing with the initiative if they got good feedback from the emergency services.
