These trauma teddies were knitted by a Soroptimist’s friend, Cheryl, and her sister, Deborah. They were knitted in York and they travelled down to Ashtead where they were met by two Soroptimists, Veronica and Jenny. They were then delivered to organisations where children were often placed in traumatic situations. 30 teddies were delivered to an I Choose Freedom refuge in Surrey. These will be included in their Welcome Packs for new families arriving at the refuge who have been involved in domestic abuse.
24 teddies were delivered to Surrey Police via Maria Edwards, Force Advisor Child Vulnerability. Maria said that the teddies will be taken in police patrol cars and be given to children who have been involved in an incident that has led to police involvement. Some teddies will be available for children in the video suites for child abuse cases. More teddies are being knitted by Cheryl and Deborah who have kindly shared their knitting pattern so that some Soroptimists can begin to knit teddies as well. Each teddy has its own individual bag for storage.
Photos- Left to Right :1) Teddies packed into boxes in York. 2) Soroptimists Jenny and Veronica ready to deliver the teddies. They had a good view out of the back window! 3) An individual teddy with its storage bag which can always be converted into a sleeping bag! 4) Maria Edwards receiving the teddies.
As an update to this, a friend of Diana’s, Sylvia, has also been knitting teddies and 15 were donated to Epsom and Ewell Foodbank in December 2022, in time for Christmas. To date ( March 2023) a total of 69 teddies have been donated and more teddies are waiting to be distributed.
If you would like to contribute and knit some Trauma Teddies here is the pattern used: Trauma Teddies Knitting Pattern.
By supporting children’s health and well being, the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’ is being met. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal3