Inge
Sardy doesn't have grandchildren.
But you wouldn't know it by the collection of teddy bears
growing at her feet. It's grandmotherly love --
with all the right strings attached.
Sardy, a 60+-year old retired provincial royal commission
coordinator, along with her close-knit chum, Val Thomas,
60+,
are producing stuffed teddy bears destined for needy kids
around the world.
"Because
we don't have any ourselves, every ounce of grandmother
power we have is going into these teddy bears,"
explained Sardy, who got the idea after hearing volunteer
knitters in Britain were shipping thousands of the little
grinning guys to kids in Nicaragua for Hurricane Mitch
survivors.
'It's needed'
"It's
not food, but it's needed. Doctors have found a little
toy can have a great healing power for
children."Armed with double knitting wool, size 4
needles and a need to do some good, Sardy and Thomas have
started their two-person knitting collatoration:-
Teddy-Grams
Dozens
of their own brand of care-bears are being shipped off to
an orphanage in Lebanon, and will be delivered to kids on
Christmas Day. As well, more are slated for another
orphanage in Romania. The two divorced women are also
planning to travel to Romania, in the spring, as
volunteers for World Vision.
"But even if we don't, the teddy bears will make the
trip," Sardy said.
MAY 1999 TRIP.
"They
have lots of time to knit," World Vision
spokesperson
Nandy Heule said, noting volunteers will head over with
bears in May.
Meanwhile, Sardy and Thomas are trying to get the ball of
yarn rolling with other Toronto area knitters -- hoping
to eventually beat the British and knit more than 100,000
teddy bears.
"It's so easy to sit in front of the TV and create
something
that's going to bring real joy to a child," she
said.
The only catch -- besides the fact they're constantly
trying to scrounge enough materials -- is that all the
bears have to be slightly different.
"No two are alike. The
children have to know theirs
is a little different."
Any
problems: please contact the
webmaster.
| G.M.T.
Web Designs © 2004 |
