TEDDIES knitted to comfort kids going through hard times have been hand-delivered to the Hunter.
On Tuesday, residents of Ingenia Gardens Taree made the journey to deliver 120 hand-knitted Trauma Teddies to the Newcastle Westpac Helicopter facility.
Trauma Teddies provide care in a number of ways, including comforting children fleeing bushfires, providing company in an ambulance or helicopter and welcoming refugee children.
On average it takes around five hours to knit each bear, but Ingenia Gardens Taree social club president Maddie Simmons said it was worth every minute.
"In the end it took us around four months to get the Teddies completed. Some of us knitted them, some of us stuffed, some of us sewed them together and some of us packed them away," Ms Simmons said. "It was great to get down to Newcastle and hand deliver the Teddies."
"It was a huge group effort, but so worth it. Westpac Helicopter service were over the moon to receive the donation and I'm very proud of our group for all the hard work."
Ingenia Gardens is an operator, owner and developer of seniors' independent living communities across Australia.
Their facility in Taree has rental units in a gated community. Ms Simmons said one of the residents, Betty, has been volunteering with the social club for more than 30 years.
"That's how this whole thing came about, really - our community wanted to work on a project for charity, so I reached out to Betty who suggested knitting Trauma Teddies," she said. "Apparently not many people are knitting these Teddies now, so the service was in desperate need.
"It was a truly wonderful day for us all. The Westpac team put on a lovely morning tea for us and gave us a tour of a helicopter sitting in the hangar."
Westpac media and emergency services liaison officer Graham Nickisson said the service was overwhelmed by the generosity of the residents. He said the Teddies would be distributed to three bases at Belmont, Tamworth and Lismore."
"Trauma Teddies play a very comforting role when transporting kids who are sick and injured," Mr Nickisson said. "Helicopters can be quite noisy, and for children it can be daunting seeing strange men and women in flight helmets, especially when mum and dad aren't with them.
"As soon as the helicopter crew give them a Trauma Teddy, things settle down."
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