”
At first we were kind of intimidated,
”
16-year-old Gilroy High School student Heather Brodersen told
me.
”
The judge looked stern. But when we walked up and started
talking to him, he was totally nice.
”
“At first we were kind of intimidated,” 16-year-old Gilroy High School student Heather Brodersen told me. “The judge looked stern. But when we walked up and started talking to him, he was totally nice.”
Brodersen was describing her visit to the Hall of Justice in San Jose, where she and her fellow Rainbow Girls delivered more than 60 teddy bears to Eugene M. Hyman, a felony trial judge who deals with sex crimes cases perpetrated against children aged 14 or younger.
“Often times, the victim has to testify,” Deputy Sheriff Shannon Catalano said. “Testifying in court can be very scary for a child. They are in an environment where they have to talk about sexual occurrences in front of complete strangers. Furthermore, in many (sex crime cases), the perpetrator is often times a family member, such as the father or a cousin. When children come in to testify, they can become fidgety on the stand and nervous. You will often see children pulling at their T-shirts or picking at their pants.
“We had a Jane Doe who was a sex-crime victim and the father was the perpetrator,” Catalano said. “The girl didn’t have anything to hold onto during her testimony, so I gave her an avocado stress ball from Chevy’s to hold onto. Watching her made me realize that these children really need something in their hands to squeeze, especially when the questions are so personal and scary.”
“Gee, I wish we had something to give them,” Catalano commented to her courtroom reporter, Melissa Williams, assistant leader of the Gilroy Assembly No. 125 of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, a civic-minded nonprofit for girls ages 11 to 20.
That’s when the Rainbow Girls stepped up to the plate.
“We are a Masonic youth order, and our group … is dedicated to promoting good values, teaching communication and leadership skills, encouraging cooperation, and improving our communities through service,” Williams said. “Our girls often form close friendships which continue in adulthood.”
The Gilroy Rainbow group is small, but the 10 girls worked together on the teddy bear project. They also recruited the help of Mother Advisor Pat Gewin and Ena Ferranti, who was one of the original founding members of Gilroy No. 125 as a girl. Working together, they were able to gather teddy bears from parents and friends, and they even received several really nice bears from the Thomas Kinkade Company, headquartered in Morgan Hill.
“This project will make the court process easier for young victims and witnesses, which is why it is so important,” Deputy Catalano explained. “When children have something in their hands, such as a teddy bear, they have something that they can squeeze and fidget with, which is very comforting.”
This project is close to my heart because when I was young, I remember that the most comforting thing to me was my teddy bear. His name was Teensie, and I held him until he was so well-worn that the only place you could see his original fur was on the back of his legs.
During a difficult time when I was abused, Teensie was my closest friend. Although I never had to testify against my abuser, I will never forget what that little bear meant to me as a child.
Other people are appreciative of the girls’ efforts too.
“I’m very proud of her,” Brodersen’s great aunt, Marge Wentworth, said on the phone from Manteca. A longtime Gilroyan who moved in 2007 to be closer to her grandchildren, she said she and her husband of 68 years, Everette Wentworth, still keep track of what goes on here in Gilroy by reading the Gilroy Dispatch.
Of course, the charitable effort also brought perks for the Rainbow Girls – while making the bear delivery, they couldn’t resist checking out the courtroom.
“We tried those babies out,” Brodersen said, referring to the jury chairs. “They were so comfortable!”
Yet, the important part was the impact the project had.
“It was so much fun!” Brodersen said. “It’s the best feeling – seeing how happy you make people is the best thing.”
