Collins builds teddy bears for children

Free Roly Poly sandwiches weren't the only reward for students at the Collins Living Learning-Center Clubhouse Saturday. \nFor volunteer students who sewed teddy bears for Middle Way House children, knowing a child's life was better was reward enough.\n"I'm hoping it will be a comfort for (the kids) to have a stuffed animal to keep them company when they go to a strange new environment," said senior Kelly Walsh, coordinator of the event.\nThe bears will be given to children aged five years or older when they move into Middle Way House -- a center for women and children of domestic violence and/or sexual assault crisis. The center offers women and children a temporary place to live, support groups to cope, child care services, crisis intervention and legal advocacy programs.\nWalsh has done other projects with the Collins Philanthropy group and thought it would be a good idea to make stuffed animals for kids of Middle Way House. She said the event planning took three weeks and staffers of Middle Way House were happy to have the offer.\nWalsh has done a lot of sewing, so she knew how to blueprint the pattern and make the teddy bears a reality. Walsh designed the bear patterns herself, and the entire design process took a few hours, as volunteers spent the bulk of their day cutting out the material for ears and noses, sewing and embroidering faces and stuffing them.\n"We tried to make each bear very unique and give them each a sense of character," Welsh said.\nMany students who volunteered for the event said they were happy to help the children.\n"I saw flyers (for the event)," freshman Hilary Powers said. "My roommate is doing a lot of stuff for Middle Way House, so I thought I could help out."\nFunding for the event came from the Collins Arts Council, which is paid for by the student activity fee from Collins residents.\n"I like sewing, and the kids need teddy bears," said freshman Kristel Messer.\nThe teddy bear project was also intended to save Middle Way House money from otherwise purchasing teddy bears, Walsh said. \nWalsh said the future of the event is promising, as nearly 20 people attended the event, making a total of 10 bears. \n"I think the project was a success. It was a lot of fun for everyone, and the children of Middle Way House will be very happy," said Walsh.\n-- Contact staff writer Andrea Opperman at acopperm@indiana.edu.