Welcome
MISSION STATEMENT:
"Because we believe every vulnerable or disadvantaged child should own a teddy bear."
My name is Melanie Smith and I am founder of Angelbear which I started in January 2010. I had no idea how much you would all take Angelbear to your hearts and I thank you all for making it a huge success. I want Angelbear to touch every country across the globe and reach every child in need of a hug!
Q.What is Angelbear?
A. Angelbear is an idea that came to me whilst contemplating how I could best use my spare time for contributing positively to society, and more specifically in helping children who are facing adversity and difficult challenges in their lives. This is a UK based initiative which will be used to benefit many organisations and individuals worldwide. Angelbear is a small hand-knitted bear I have designed which incorporates several textures, thus providing extra stimuli for the child. I also designed the bear in a simple way so more people will be able to knit one, even beginners. Each bear is an individual so can be knitted in various colours (whatever is in your stash) of Double Knit wool (In fact even 4-ply makes a nice sized bear). This site contains the pattern necessary for making a bear, viewable in your browser window, which can then be posted to me. It is essential that you also read the safety guidelines, which are below the pattern, before commencing your bear. When I have received a set amount of bears I will package them up, notify the recipient of the expected delivery date, and send the bears via Royal Mail. My philosophy is: angelbear is all about the children. I run it for them and we are strictly a NON-PROFIT ORGANISATION, so you can be sure all help in the form of knitted toys/donations are used ONLY for the angelbear purpose.
Q. What are the benefits of Angelbear?
A. As a former nurse I know firsthand that children in certain situations often do not have a bear/toy of their own. This is for many reasons and I am not suggesting this is any form of parent error or neglect as they have enough to deal with. Even the ones with a cuddly toy would no doubt relish receiving a bear made with love by people who care about them. As we all know, a beloved bear is often a lifelong companion and confidant, providing the child with a constant source of comfort and feelings of therapeutic benefit. I am sure we all remember a beloved soft toy from our childhoods. So what a precious gift to bestow upon a child who is at a low ebb for whatever reason.
Q. Who receives my bear?
A. We make regular offers to various charities and organisations of free bears so the bears can literally go anywhere in the world! Individual bears have also been nominated and sent to children who are having a particularly difficult time so keep an eye on the website for more details.
Q. How can I contribute to the Angelbear project?
A. There are five main ways to contribute to this project.
1) Knit an Angelbear: The pattern can be viewed and printed with full instructions on how to complete a bear and the safety standards the bears must adhere to. The bear can then be sent to my address for dispatch.
2) Knit an Angelbunny: I have designed a cute little bunny for you to knit or buy. Please consider knitting a small bunny when you knit a bear as the money we raise from bunnies helps to keep Angelbear running.
3) Buy an Angelbunny: Once knitted and sent to me all the Angelbunnies will be available for sale through this site. Every single penny makes a huge difference so please help us by buying a bunny.
4) Send us your used printer cartiridges/toner bottles and stamps: We can turn used printer cartridges, toner bottles and used stamps (especially foreign but British can be sold too) to raise much needed funds to keep Angelbear up and running. Please help us by sending all your empties and saving all stamps as this will really help us.
5) Nominate bears: I am very happy to receive suggestions of charities, organisations or individual children whom you feel would benefit from our bears. Just use the link on the home page to drop me a line and I will always reply. We are well on target to achieving my aim of sending out 1,000 in our first year. We also are currently receiving very high internet traffic on this site but we CAN DO MORE!!!!!!
No child will EVER be refused an Angelbear who is in need of comfort.
