Mother Bear Project to the Rescue
Even as HIV/AIDS ravages South Africa, the Mother Bear Project is there to brighten the lives of sad children with hand-knitted bears.
Anyone who doubts that knitting can make the world a better place should take a good, long look at the Mother Bear Project. This knitter's charity targets needy children in South Africa, providing them with tiny, hand-knit teddy bears when all hope seems lost.
Most of the children helped by the Mother Bear Project are victims of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in one way or another. Some have the disease; others are orphans because of it. Sometimes their Mother Bears are all they have left.
A PROJECT WITH HEART
About 400 simple hand-knitted bears make their way to the Minnesota headquarters of the Mother Bear Project every month. Volunteers there sew a red felt heart on the front of every one before they send it to Africa for a child to love.
Each bear also goes out with a tag attached to its wrist that reads, "With love, Mother Bear." The tag includes the signature of the knitter who made it.
While every volunteer knitter for the Mother Bear Project is a "Mother Bear" in his or her own right, the original Mother Bear is Amy Berman, a mother of two from St. Paul. In 2003, she read a magazine article about the plight of South African children, and it touched her heart.
Amy had hand-knitted teddy bears for her own kids when they were born, using a pattern loaned by an English friend. Remembering how much her own children had loved them -- and armed with a new moniker awarded by her son -- Mother Bear #1 set to work.
A BEAR IN THE HAND...
Amy's vision turned out to be contagious. Many of her friends joined the cause, even those who had never knitted before. Soon, yarn companies were donating yarn, and the Minnesota Knitters' Guild had adopted the Mother Bear Project as one of their special efforts.
Today, Mother Bears are everywhere. Nuns of the School Sisters of Notre Dame knit bears for the Mother Bear Project, and so do residents of a nearby assisted living home. The cause also has a few knitters overseas.
Some Mother Bears are so prolific that they've qualified for the coveted "Hundred-Bear Club," which is growing rapidly as more and more knitters hit the hundred-bear mark.
THE BEAR NECESSITIES
Ready to become a Mother Bear yourself? To find out more, take at look at the official Mother Bear project website.
All teddies produced for the Mother Bear Project must be hand-knitted, not store-bought, using the official World War II-era Mother Bear pattern. You can get the patterns for $5.00 (they use the money to defray shipping costs to Africa).
Knit your bear's body from a washable worsted-weight yarn made from acrylics, washable wools, wool blends, or cotton. The stuffing should be washable polyester fiberfill. Don't attach any buttons, eyes, beads, or anything else that a child could choke on.
You'll also need to include $3.00 with your contribution to help with shipping.
The Mother Bear Project will take just about any knitted bear that meets their requirements. Even if yours doesn't come out quite right, don't worry -- they'll fix it for you.