‘Not alone’: Police pair up with Kansas City nonprofit to help comfort kids in crisis

LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCTV) - Shadow Buddies have been helping kids in the Kansas City metro for 30 years. The nonprofit hands out plush toys to children going through a tough time, and now those efforts are expanding to Lawrence.

It may just look like a small toy, but Shadow Buddies make a big difference.

“I was 12 years old, so I was kind of out of the buddy phase, but getting my own police officer buddy was more significant because it was a representation of my dad and the service he gave his community,” said Tyler Mosher, Shadow Buddies volunteer and daughter of slain Overland Park Police Officer Mike Mosher.

Mike Mosher is a hero who lost his life in the line of duty in May 2020.

“I saw how much [Shadow Buddies] impacted my little cousins, how much they really held on and cared about their buddy,” Tyler shared.

That impact led Tyler to her volunteer work with Shadow Buddies, helping expand the program to law enforcement across the metro to help children feel a sense of comfort no matter their challenge - a mission echoed by the organization’s founder, Mary Postlethwait. “Five seconds, five minutes, five days of comfort or to be able to provide just a small smile even for one minute during their day [is worth it].”

Mary started Shadow Buddies after seeing her young son spend night after night in the hospital. Since then, nearly three million Shadow Buddies have shipped cross-country and around the world with a simple yet heartfelt message: “A Shadow Buddy makes a child feel less alone, and I think loneliness is a universal feeling we’ve all experienced and gone through.”

Fifty Shadow Buddies were handed out to the Lawrence Police Department on a trial run September 4 with more expected in the days and weeks ahead.