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News & Announcements
1/12/2011 | ‘Hands on’ philanthropy makes a difference at BLJC
Underprivileged youngsters from the rural Philippines, who rarely see a new toy in their life, received more than 300 home-made teddy bears for Christmas due to the efforts of Teddies 4 Kiddies (T4K).
Lisa Hudson, property services co-ordinator on the TD Canada Trust account, began T4K in 2006 as an expression of her philanthropic spirit and love for knitting.
Hudson says she began knitting the bears for a Doctors Without Borders’ program, Teddies 4 Tragedies, when her personal contacts led her to work toward providing bears to the underdeveloped areas in the Philippines.
In her first year she made 59 bears by herself and says that she only knits if there is a purpose.
Her goal is to deliver the bears by September so that they are ready for distribution at Christmas overseas.
Each year she aims to ship more bears than the last, and since its inception, T4K has sent more than 1,000 bears to the Philippines.
Hudson says volunteers can contribute by knitting a bear of their own based on the standard pattern provided on the website, www.teddies4kiddies.com, by making donations of wool and materials, or by spreading the word to friends.
Though T4K is not a registered charity and is unable to provide charitable receipts, they do accept funds to pay for shipping expenses.
Hudson says the shipping can cost more than $400 after firmly stuffing more than 300 bears into boxes bound for the Philippines.
She says a local Wal-Mart store hosted a barbeque which helped raise funds for the shipping costs.
The long-term goal for T4K is to make enough bears each year to exceed their obligations overseas and offer bears for underprivileged families in Ontario, says Hudson.
She says BLJC staff takes a personalized approach to philanthropy.
“We’re hands on when it comes to philanthropy because we want to make a difference personally and the only way to do that is to be involved,” says Hudson.
Hudson also volunteers once a month on the food line at the Good Shepherd in Hamilton and did small pet therapy at Tansley Woods Veterinary Hospital in Burlington.
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