THE annual delivery of Red Cross Santa Teddies to children at the University Hospital in Geelong will be extra special this year with each teddy wearing a celebratory Red Cross Centenary Badge.
Red Cross members from Geelong will deliver the teddies to the Children’s Ward at 10am next Wednesday, December 10.
Red Cross Teddy Co-ordinator Kathleen Lancaster says: “The centenary teddies have been knitted by a team of volunteers from all over Victoria and each teddy has been given a unique, Red Cross Centenary Badge.
“Knitted teddies are sent to the Red Cross Office in Geelong where a small group of volunteers piece the teddies together, fill them, sew them up and check each one for possible faults.”
Five hundred Trauma Teddies are completed and delivered to children and people in need each month, including 200 each month to the Children’s Ward at the Geelong Hospital.
Red Cross Trauma Teddies are colourful, hand knitted toys that are used to provide reassurance to whoever needs them.
The teddies are handed out during emergencies to local hospitals, evacuation centres, the CFA and SES to help anyone who needs a little extra comfort and hugs.
Trauma Teddies are knitted from donated wool, and by using individual colours and facial features each Teddy is given its own character and personality by the volunteers who bring them to life.
Red Cross volunteer knitters are always looking for donations of 8 ply wool of any colour to help build up stocks of Trauma Teddies.
Source: Red Cross Australia
Ryan Fritz
Ryan Fritz started The Advocate in 2014 to provide not-for-profits and charities another media platform to tell their worthwhile hard news stories and opinion pieces effortlessly. In 2020, Ryan formed a team of volunteer journalists to help spread even more high-quality stories from the third sector. He also has over 10 years experience as a media and communications professional for not-for-profits and charities and currently works at Redkite, a childhood cancer charity.
