In the midst of the bushfire crisis the Shepparton sisters banded together to think of different ways to help victims of the disaster.
Having family in the Gippsland area, they knew food and clothes were coming in shiploads and decided instead to focus on comforting children involved in the crisis.
Being parents themselves, they thought about the comfort that a soft teddy bear could bring to a child and decided to begin collecting bears.
Emma said they wanted something that would put a smile on a child’s face but also be easy for parents to cart along instead of bulky toys.
“We posted the idea to our Facebook friends and family and it just spread,” Emma said.
“We started the initiative last Saturday and we already have more than 200 bears.”
The sisters have since created a Facebook page and have been getting donations from people across Australia.
“People's generosity has been just amazing, and we have had people post bears to us from Sydney, Ballarat and even Tasmania,” Emma said.
Emma and Tess will continue to accept donations of new or barley used bears for the next few weeks.
They had hoped to hand out the bears to bushfire-affected communities in the Gippsland region this weekend, however the weather and roads have postponed the journey until January 26.
“We have contacts in the area so know who and where needs the bears the most,” Emma said.
“At the moment we are focusing on the Gippsland area and if we do have a great influx, we will go to other areas such as Corryong.”
There are three places across the region where people can drop off bears:● Kiddie Culture at Riverside Plaza, Kialla;● North East Isuzu, Shepparton;● Little Bags of Magic, Numurkah.For more details or to follow the bears’ journey, head to the Facebook page.
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