Project Mother Bear is a grass-roots, non-profit group dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children, primarily those affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations by giving them a gift of love in the form of hand-knitted and crocheted teddy bears. The simple gift of a handmade bear with a tag signed by the knitter has touched children with the message that they are unconditionally loved.

To date, about 28,200 bears have been sent to South Africa, Zambia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Burundi, Malawi, Botswana, Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia and other countries as Project Mother Bear finds out about children in need.

Their website photos, of poverty-stricken children cuddling bears and smiling, were all the inspiration I needed to bring this amazing charity to my shop. So far, I’ve got 30 bears pledged to us, but I don’t want to stop there – my goal is to send 100 bears from Abuelita’s!

I’m asking everyone to consider making just one bear. This is a GREAT project for your scrap yarn, and if you run short, just come into the shop and let us know – we’ll welcome you to pull from our scrap yarn, too. The pattern isn’t difficult and we can help you along the way.

PLEASE let me know if you’d like to pledge a bear! I’ll take care of the shipping and $ donation, but you can make a difference just by knitting or crocheting one lovey.

To read more about Project Mother Bear, visit www.motherbearproject.org.