WILTON – Girls involved in the mentoring program Girls Talk recently held a yard sale and took their $300-plus profit to buy teddy bears for children in traumatic situations, police Chief Dennis Brown said.

Brown had three tubs full of small, cuddly bears Monday for not only his department but to also deliver to the Farmington Department and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department.

The bears could have come in handy last week, he said, as he described an assault that was witnessed by children who called 911. When an officer gives a child a bear in that situation, where he may be arresting a parent, it helps to explain that the officer is not bad but is doing what needs to be done. The bears are something positive that help bring a bad situation back to something more normal for them, police suggested.

Brown praised the young students for unselfishly giving the trauma bears.

Girls Talk is a literacy-based program for fifth- and sixth-graders at Academy Hill School. The 40 girls in the program are paired with women role models from the community and student leaders at the University of Maine at Farmington. The program’s mission is to enhance self-esteem, raise aspirations, emphasize personal responsibility and decision making and create an environment that fosters a commitment to the community.

In October, said Katie Hallman, school nurse and a member of the program’s Advisory Council, a meal with linen and china is arranged and the girls eat with their mentors. Then a book is assigned and the girls and their mentors continue meeting for book discussions. The books always have a strong, female character.

The program also has guest speakers, cultural opportunities and recreational activities, plus participants do a community service project. This year, the group planned and organized the yard sale that netted money for the bears.

The council has also planned a raffle event for the August Blueberry Festival to raise money to buy books. They hope to raise the $500 needed to purchase a 100 copies.

“One of the best things I’ve seen from the program,” said Hallman, “is girls reading while they wait for the school bus. Driving into work I’ve noticed them reading, and I know it’s the book from the Girls Talk program.”

The program has been popular with the Academy Hill School students and with mentors, Hallman said.