Eighty-five-year-old Mary Smith of Fisher Branch, Manitoba is one charitable and active grandmother, in spite of some life-changing obstacles. One year ago she suffered a stroke and she was no longer able to work in her large, well-tended yard and garden, and a broken wrist added to her forced inactivity. When Smith was told by a friend about an urgent need for knitted teddy bears, and shown some that were already completed, a hobby was born. Once an avid knitter, Smith wondered if she would still be capable of such activity. She was!

These cuddly, colourful teddies are distributed mainly to children in hospitals. Doctors claim that those with their own teddies to cuddle tend to be cheered by them and improve faster than those without. Each child receiving a teddy takes it home.

As Smith knits, she thinks of each child who will receive one and says that knitting these bears has saved her life. To date, she has made 90 little bears to be snuggled and loved.

There’s an ongoing need for these teddies, and anyone wishing to make some can find the information by Googling Teddies For Tragedies and follow the links.

– Eva Krawchuk writes from Winnipeg