Brescia House School‘s annual teddy bear drive has continued to help non-profit organisations by donating teddy bears to people in need.
Each year, parents and grandparents of children from Brescia embark on the challenge to knit as many teddy bears as they possibly can, regardless of the size, shape or colour.
The whole school gets involved, and teachers can often be found sitting at break time knitting and sewing. The bears are donated to the Teddy Bear Clinic as well as a few other non-profit organisations including CHOC and the Topsy Foundation.
Head of counselling and community outreach at the school Liz Norman said, “The children who receive the bears are all children in distress – these bears become a symbol of comfort and care for them. They know that somewhere out in the world, there was a person who especially took time to make this toy for them.”
The teddy bear drive started about 10 years ago as a fun staff initiative to ‘knit a few bears’. Since then, the drive has grown significantly and the school has collected over 5 000 bears. Last year, in particular, was very successful with over 1 500 bears collected.
Norman said that the initiative aims to support the Teddy Bear Clinic in the valuable services they provide to the community and to offer young children some comfort. “Our staff, pupils, parents and alumni have shown amazing support for this project each year with the number of teddies being knitted or crocheted growing and growing.”
Parents and grandparents support the drive with great enthusiasm with some knitting anything from 10 to 150 bears each. Norman added that there is a group of dedicated knitters and crocheters who help make teddies each year but others also help knitted blankets, beanies and baby jerseys for various charity’s as well.
Details: Brescia House 011 706 7404
Share your thoughts on the teddy bear drive on the Sandton Chronicle Facebook page.
Related articles:
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/203263/bresica-house-hosts-catholic-schools-netball-and-hockey-festival/
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/200400/topsy-foundation-gifted-r50-000/
