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Many volunteers have spent hours making thousands of teddy bears during the past 31 years. The bears are for abused children who are served through the Utah County Children's Justice Center. Some volunteers make as many as one bear a day.

Courtesy photo

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Many volunteers have spent hours making thousands of teddy bears during the past 31 years. The bears are for abused children who are served through the Utah County Children's Justice Center. Some volunteers make as many as one bear a day.

Courtesy photo

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For more than three decades, volunteers have been making teddy bears by hand to give to children who visit the Utah County Children’s Justice Center. The bears are a source of comfort and a symbol of hope to children who are victims of abuse.

Provo resident Ruth Brasher was coordinating service projects 31 years ago for her Relief Society women’s group with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was told about the Children’s Justice Center, a homelike facility that serves children who have experienced physical or sexual abuse and their families. The center is designed to help the children feel safe as they go through the investigative process.

That first year, members of Brasher’s church ward, the Sharon East Ninth Ward, helped put together 300 teddy bears. Since then, many people, including those outside of that church community, have come together to participate. Brasher said that two sisters who had learned their mother was sexually abused as a child asked to be involved. Others have asked how they can help as well. “From that original 300 commitment, we have made probably about 22,000 bears,” Brasher said.

The group used to meet every month to work on the bears together. They give the center as many as 100 bears each month. When the pandemic hit, they began working from home. Now, they continue to work from home, but get together for two workshops yearly. The bears are completely handmade. The volunteers get the fabric ready, cut it, sew, stuff and decorate. Each one is unique.

As children leave the Children’s Justice Center after being interviewed, they are able to choose a bear from where they are displayed on the fireplace mantle. They are told that the bears were made by people who want to help them, according to Brasher.

“Our heartstrings get tied up in it. When I deliver the bears, I would see the children selecting them. I will continue doing it as long as I can,” Brasher said. “We’ve heard stories of those who keep their bears for years.”

In fact, Brasher once met a woman who had received one of the bears as a child. The woman told her about how when she first received the bear, she would throw it, as a way to deal with her anger. “Now, she said that it sits on her bureau and has been such a blessing to her,” Brasher said.

Joan Ralph has been one of the volunteers for 12 years, making about 25 bears each month. The former home economics teachers said she wants to help children who need extra care and give them the feeling of being loved.

Ardyth Cannon, who also sews bears every month, said she remembers one bear that turned out so unique and different that she wondered if anyone would want it. “Then I thought, ‘Some kid is going to love that,'” she said.

Cannon said she used to have no idea what abuse meant. “When you have had the good fortune to grow up in a loving home, you can’t imagine what it’s like for these kids to be verbally and physically put down all the time,” she said. “It is a sincere investment of love and it comes in different colors and different qualities. The bears are all intended to be cheerful and a message of love.”

“The bears are not only a comfort item for the child but also a reminder of their bravery, because it takes a lot of courage for them to come share their story. It also lets the child know that there are people in the community that care about them and support them” said Heather Allen, Children’s Justice Center associate director. “Since every single bear is unique, kids enjoy picking out a bear that matches their personality. They love knowing that no one has a bear like theirs.”

Allen said that between the Provo and American Fork locations, the Children’s Justice Center sees about 65-70 cases per month. “When we have had the opportunity to talk to children or caregivers months or years after their visit to our center, we are often told how meaningful the bear has been to them when they needed comfort.”

Those interested in donating to the teddy project can bring donations of new fabric, stuffing and ribbon to the Provo Children’s Justice Center, 315 S. 100 East, or money can be donated to the Friends of Utah County Children’s Justice Center via Paypal or Venmo @CJC-Provo.

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