Hundreds of teddy bears will be a little more snuggly for the children who need the cuddles most.
Karen Mackle and local heating and insulation installers, Comfortmaster, have teamed up to provide the Tedz4thekidz programme with the warmest, softest and cuddliest teddies that Karen can make.
“I was buying fabric at first but word has got out and several groups donate fabric now. It’s charities supporting charities and because we’re still not being funded any help we can get is fantastic,” she says.
Tedz4thekidz doesn’t quite fit the criteria for funding so Karen says trust members beg for items to be donated. The volunteers often pay for things themselves to get what is needed.
“These bears are so lovely and soft. The kids cuddling up to these have no chance of being allergic to them. Prior to this I had to buy new pillows and pull the insides apart to stuff them.”
Tedz4thekidz is a branch of 4theKidz, a registered charitable trust focused on supporting children and families, and the reduction of New Zealand child abuse incidents.
Karen’s focus on the Tedz4thekidz work is unwavering. Over time, she has made 130 bears and 230 quilts. These are packaged with a torch and notebook.
Each item has a purpose, the bear is a safe friend in a confusing world, the blanket is security, the torch means they are never alone in the dark and the notebook is a place for expression.
The packages are stored at police stations around the country and given to children who suffer a traumatic incident, sometimes being removed from their homes.
Karen says when these children are removed they often need to leave their possessions behind.
“I’ve been a scared child and one of these would have been nice. The feedback that we get, the look of delight, it’s a light at the end of the tunnel when they’ve been through something horrible and that makes it worthwhile to me.”
Karen has been involved in the project since its inception four years ago. She contacted Comfortmaster, a Taranaki-based company, looking for safe, free stuffing for her hand-made bears.
“We were happy to help, we regularly have underfloor product off-cuts. To see them go to such a worthwhile project has given our whole team a lift,” said Jarred Green, operations manager.
“The product we’ve provided is a low allergen polyester. It’s so soft and warm you could wrap up in it and take a nap.”
Jarred says Comfortmaster is happy to continue providing bear stuffing for as long as Karen needs it.
“They just, they need it more than we do. We’re proud to be able to help someone who is providing the community with such a fantastic service.
“Unfortunately they need to keep replacing these packs, until our child abuse statistics change, they’re always going to need to provide these. We’ll be here to help them.”
Comfortmaster is a division of the Kensair Group, based in Hawera, and is focused on providing home heating solutions.
By Petra
On average one child is killed every 5 weeks. Most of these children are under five and the largest group is less than a year old.
Ninety percent of all child deaths are perpetrated by someone the child knew.
For the year 1 July 2016 – 30 June 2017 there were:
- 158,921 Reports of Concern to Child, Youth and Family/Oranga Tamariki – these include 77,081 Police Family Violence Referrals
- 38,975 Reports of Concern requiring further action by Child, Youth and Family/Oranga Tamariki
- 14,802 substantiated findings of abuse (including emotional, physical, sexual abuse & neglect)
- 12,117 distinct children with substantiated abuse findings
- 5,708 children currently in the custody of the Chief Executive of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children (4,716 children living in ‘out of home’ placements)
Source: http://www.childmatters.org.nz/55/learn-about-child-abuse/facts