After making 1000s of teddy bears for kids in need, group shuts down

A group in P.E.I. that has made thousands of teddy bears for children in need andin developing countries around the world has disbanded after more than a decade of volunteer work.

Carol Ann Newson founded Kuddles for Kids in Summerside as a way to reach out and help others. Volunteers would get together a couple of afternoons a month to stuff and sew the colorful bears.

Sometimes the little bears were the only toy a child had ever been given, said Newson. While she knows the work was appreciated, she said difficulties in the group's operations were piling up.

"A place where we were meeting might not be available for us in coming years," she said.

"The company in Bouctouche where we got our fleece, they went out of business. One of our volunteers used to pick up stuffing in Toronto, but they have health concerns now and they don't make as many trips to Toronto. So we had to start buying stuffing."

Newson said if any local groups are heading overseas the group still has about 200 bears looking for a home.

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