When Mothers with a Heart for Ethiopia encouraged volunteers to ‘share our talents’ and to put a price on our homemade items, the first thing on Patti McDonald’s mind was how to re-activate the charm of those lovely theme bears she has been making since she retired two years ago.
It was the response of medical personnel across this great country during the COVID-19 pandemic that sparked her imagination. Enter the “LOVE The Front Line Worker Bears.” These bears are carefully designed to honour all our family and friends who have been caught in the thick of the crisis.
The bears are made with medical gowns, face masks and medical gloves, and a giant-sized heart. Each bear can be customized to a certain degree, but yarn costs can be required in these cases. Knowing the hours of work these bears can take to create, Patti looked for inspiration from another charity program, and using their doll format to inspire her creativity, she created a much smaller Medical Worker Doll to help absorb some of the order volume and get product out there quickly.
These adorable little dolls are only six to eight inches in height, and so squeezable and cute. They, too, come with a large-sized heart attached to the doll’s gown. The response has been fabulous. The campaign has already raised more than $630!
You can see the cool selection of dolls available by searching for “Bear Fundraiser” by Patti McDonald on Facebook. The large bears sell for $35.00 and can take up to two weeks to produce after they’re ordered. The smaller dolls are going for $10.00, and have a one week lead time, based on order volume.
All volunteers are invited to use their imaginations and find creative ways to sell a product or a service to your friends and family. You can then donate the money you raise to Gems & Java Home Edition (cheques made out to DevXchange), and receive a tax receipt! It’s a wonderful way to share your time, and your talents, and do good at the same time. As Patti has shown us, just a little bit of creative fun, and multiple purposes are served — our frontline healthcare workers are honoured, and Mothers With a Heart for Ethiopia receives some much-needed funds to serve basic human needs in Ethiopia.