The Wellington Police Department turned into animal control last week, as a Wichita woman donated dozens of teddy bears to the law enforcement agency.
Leta Smith of Wichita brought bags of bears down for the police department to give to children and seniors. Each bear a different color, boasted hand-sewn button eyes and a hand-embroidered nose.
“I have been making 12 of them a month for them and then I bought a dozen because I thought I couldn’t make them that cheaply,” said Smith.
Smith says loves the soft texture of a teddy bear, how it feels when it is held and how it makes a person feel when they have one. She’s a fan of the cuddly creatures, to say the least.
“I’m 80 years-old and I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t want to do anything but make teddy bears,” said Smith, laughing. “It could be worse,”
Smith started making dolls, just like her mother and after making a few teddy bears for her grandchildren, she was hooked.
“From then on it’s just been teddy bears,” said Smith.
After filling her home with teddy bears, Smith decided it was time to give some away and started giving them to police departments around Kansas.
The Wichita woman understands what a single bear can mean to a person, which is partly the reason why she spends so much of her time and energy making them for others.
“I’ve given 60 of them to the Wichita Police Department. I brought some down to [Capt. Bill Upton] and I’ve been bringing them ever since,” she said.
Smith comes down to Wellington regularly for the Red Hat Society and usually has a bag of bears in tow.
She says she spends only a few hours on each bear.
“Would you believe it’s not hard at all. Really. With no problems it takes only 30 minutes to sew them up and it takes just as long to stuff them as it takes to sew them up. Then you have to sew them up and do all the finish work. It’s not hard,” said Smith.
She says she will continue to make the bears as long as she has fabric to get rid of. A self-labeled “heavy-sewer,” Smith has been looking to spend her stash and de-clutter her home. Making teddy bears was the perfect solution, she says.
Capt. Bill Upton says the bears will be distributed to children in traumatic situations and seniors in need of some loving care.
Having something to hug when something goes wrong in your life can make all the difference, Upton says.
“We also use it as a tool to help calm the kids down during interviews,” said Upton. “With the kids, it’s a trusting issue with us too...I’ll give them to some kids at a house fire and to kids in domestic violence situations. I drive down the street and just give it to the kids to have them associate with us, that we are not the bad guys.”
“We also take these teddy bears to the adult facilities here in town to the seniors to help them maybe recollect back in their days, because they are homemade and a lot of the adults look upon those bears and it helps with their memories,” he said.
“It’s fun to watch the kids and the seniors eyes light up,” said Upton.
If you know someone in need of a teddy bear, contact Capt. Bill Upton at the Wellington Police Department at 326-3331.
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The Wellington Police Department turned into animal control last week, as a Wichita woman donated dozens of teddy bears to the law enforcement agency.
Leta Smith of Wichita brought bags of bears down for the police department to give to children and seniors. Each bear a different color, boasted hand-sewn button eyes and a hand-embroidered nose.
“I have been making 12 of them a month for them and then I bought a dozen because I thought I couldn’t make them that cheaply,” said Smith.
Smith says loves the soft texture of a teddy bear, how it feels when it is held and how it makes a person feel when they have one. She’s a fan of the cuddly creatures, to say the least.
“I’m 80 years-old and I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t want to do anything but make teddy bears,” said Smith, laughing. “It could be worse,”
Smith started making dolls, just like her mother and after making a few teddy bears for her grandchildren, she was hooked.
“From then on it’s just been teddy bears,” said Smith.
After filling her home with teddy bears, Smith decided it was time to give some away and started giving them to police departments around Kansas.
The Wichita woman understands what a single bear can mean to a person, which is partly the reason why she spends so much of her time and energy making them for others.
“I’ve given 60 of them to the Wichita Police Department. I brought some down to [Capt. Bill Upton] and I’ve been bringing them ever since,” she said.
Smith comes down to Wellington regularly for the Red Hat Society and usually has a bag of bears in tow.
She says she spends only a few hours on each bear.
“Would you believe it’s not hard at all. Really. With no problems it takes only 30 minutes to sew them up and it takes just as long to stuff them as it takes to sew them up. Then you have to sew them up and do all the finish work. It’s not hard,” said Smith.
She says she will continue to make the bears as long as she has fabric to get rid of. A self-labeled “heavy-sewer,” Smith has been looking to spend her stash and de-clutter her home. Making teddy bears was the perfect solution, she says.
Capt. Bill Upton says the bears will be distributed to children in traumatic situations and seniors in need of some loving care.
Having something to hug when something goes wrong in your life can make all the difference, Upton says.
“We also use it as a tool to help calm the kids down during interviews,” said Upton. “With the kids, it’s a trusting issue with us too...I’ll give them to some kids at a house fire and to kids in domestic violence situations. I drive down the street and just give it to the kids to have them associate with us, that we are not the bad guys.”
“We also take these teddy bears to the adult facilities here in town to the seniors to help them maybe recollect back in their days, because they are homemade and a lot of the adults look upon those bears and it helps with their memories,” he said.
“It’s fun to watch the kids and the seniors eyes light up,” said Upton.
If you know someone in need of a teddy bear, contact Capt. Bill Upton at the Wellington Police Department at 326-3331.
