CT woman hopes to make children smile with ‘QuaranTine Bears’
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NEW HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) — The mission of a woman from New Hartford is making children smile.
She created ‘QuaranTine Bears’ to provide children some comfort during these challenging times.
“The idea just came to me in the middle of the night,” said Olivia Carlson, turning that idea into QuaranTine Bears.
“My dad passed away from pancreatic cancer about a year and a half ago. Right before he passed, we both got Build-A-Bears together,” she said. “His is actually buried with his, but mine I still have, and it brings me a lot of comfort.”
Just as her bear has brought her comfort, Olivia is hoping the bears will bring comfort to kids as well during these challenging, uncertain times.
When she started the project, Carlson said she had to learn how to sew.
“My aunt taught me how to sew,” she said. “At first, I was very slow and it took about one hour to make one mask.”
Now, it’s quite the production inside her New Hartford home.
Every bear comes with a mask, and a matching mask for the child, as well as a handwritten note from the bear and a list of tips to stay healthy.
“I started with six bears, that’s all I had in my possession. Posted it to Facebook and I had no idea how much shares it would get,” she explained, adding that they’re up to 300 orders
Carlson said she’s grateful for all the support she’s received, both from the community and her family, who have been there every step of the way.
“I hope these QT bears can help a little bit,” she said.
Anyone interested in buying a bear can find more information by visiting docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeN7ewDmvSfepp5I1udZOk1DgOpC-7uI6Q1jICESNnYXqVUrQ/viewform?fbclid=IwAR3jvB75swxg_6P1Dl7iO7B38Semb7Tq2IWXSJKL9iBq4F7gZ4QYzF05HCI
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