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{ Qrono Weekly Times, Wednesday, February 26,2003 - 3 ^ Bears from Orono, with love By Anita DeVries Like a child's arms, wrapped around a teddy on a cold dark night, so Darlene Read embraces her mission to knit bears for underprivileged children all over the world. "It feels good to help children," children," said Read an Orono resident. resident. "Especially kids that don't have much of a chance at all." Read, a retired school teacher, became involved with Teddies for Tragedies and Samaritan's Purse, two years ago, while taking a relative to Women's College Hospital. She started talking to a lady who told her about the program. program. Read figured it would be a good project for her mother and mother-in-law, since they both had time to knit. So she called for a pattern pattern and gave it to both mothers. mothers. Meta Swain, her mother- in-law who was 94 at the time, knit as many as she could. When she was 95 she was still knitting--in fact she knit until she couldn't knit anymore. "She couldn't finish her last one," said Read, of Swain who passed away last year. Marg Hail, Read's mother, is still knitting and has already made 250 bears. Read herself though, shortly shortly after beginning the project, inner Watercolour Classes April 7 - May 12 at the Burcombe Studio, Orono 905-983-5731 was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a cancer she had never heard of before. She survived the operation in which the doctors removed her fibula (the bone that connects connects the knee to the ankle) and put it along with a titanium titanium plate in her jaw where they removed the cancerous bone. Read knit through it all and kept a positive focus. She thought of the children who are sick and have no hospital to go to, and no doctors to look after them. "I feel lucky, when I was sick there was a clean hospital and doctors who knew what to do, some kids don't have that chance at all," said Read. She now has more than 30 knitters in the area who spend their time knitting bears for children children in need. "I talked to someone who went to Romania and took 260 bears with her to deliver to an orphanage there. All the children, children, no matter what their age, were in cribs. There were rows and rows of cribs. My friend tied a cloth bag containing containing a teddy bear to every crib. A three year-old boy who- came in and saw them, went running to his crib to see if he had one," said Read. "My friend said, 'the look in his eyes when he opened the bag and saw the bear was worth the price of the plane ticket." The bears have also' gone in the Christmas shoe boxes program by Samaritan's Purse, an international aid agency started by Franklin Graham (son of the well-known evangelist evangelist Billy Graham). Teddies for Tragedies was started in England by Main Street, Orono Proprietors: Gary & Carol Vrcckcr • Wedding Cakes • Cakes for ail Dccas'ms • Pastries - Donuts - Pies • Bread & Buns 905-983-9779 Closed Sunday and Monday is? ft ( \ Ifst <*ri w «96 Orono Country Ce ile Tuesday Night ~ 470 wings, 5 wing min, Wednesday Nights in February ~ Pasta Night with Caesar Salad & Garlic Bread $9,95 .W 4 to %'$ Main Street., Orono, Ontario • 983-9009 <$8 Fred DeVries proprietor • FREE ESTIMATES • COMPETITIVE RATES • • INSURANCE CLAIMS • FRED'S AUTOBODY (905) 623-6353 163 Baseline Road, Unit 1 Bowmanville, Ontario L1C 31.4 Complete Collision Repair, Restoration and Refinishing .Women's Royal Voluntary Services Workers, in 1985. The teddies they knit went to Sudan, where a temporary orphanage was set up in a refugee camp for 2,000 children children with tuberculosis. "The teddies were such a success that more were requested," says the Teddies for Tragedies web site. "Doctors who treat children in the third world found that the teddies were sometimes as important to healing as the medicines." Since then bears have been sent to many countries including including Uganda, Zambia, Jamaica, Croatia, and Calcutta. "I enjoy the fact that some child, who has nothing, is going to have a bear to hug," admitted Read with a glow in her eyes. "I love to knit, I knit everywhere, even when I'm sitting in an optometrist's office. And I love the people I meet! I can't believe all the amazing people I have met, who give so freely of their time and talent." In March, Read would like to start a sewing group at her home, to sew clothing for under-privileged children. "I would like people to meet once a week for a couple of hours to sew together," said Read. She has already sewn her first outfit, a pink jumper, that some girl, somewhere, will look really cute in. Darlene Read embraces the bears that will some day be held by boys and girls who have very little, thanks to an organization organization called 'Teddies for Tragedies'. Anita DeVries photo 3 "RRRs" continued from front in the shuffle. The common misuse of personal pronouns, the incompatibility incompatibility of nouns to verbs within sentences, double negatives, negatives, and questionable punctuation punctuation in newspapers is indicative indicative of how grammar is no longer an essential part of correct correct editing and unfortunately the acceptable. Today, many graduates-- even from university have no fundamental or grammatical training enabling them to correspond correspond on the necessary level for "proper" communication. I believe "the high failure rate in grade nine mathematics" mathematics" is indicative of the system failure. I suggest we review our educational priorities. Let us return to the basics for our children and their children! children! Sincerely, Kelly Adam Orono Reserve Fund continued from front The motion put forward at February 12th's Regional Council meeting by the finance committee, was referred back to that committee to develop a policy policy for the use of RSRF. That policy must be back at Regional Council before the 2003 budget is finalized. While the total amount of revenue in the RSRF will not be revealed till the report is completed and a policy developed developed before this year's budget is finalized by April 16, 2003, Richards did say the $10 million million would deplete the fund. Clarington's share of the RSRF is approximatly 16%. r ~ Happenings ~ a Saturday. March 1 Tyrone United Church Chicken Pie Supper & Auction - 6 p.m. at Tyrone Community Centre. Adults $10; Students $5 (toddlers free). Tickets call Sharon Trudeau 905-263-1022 Sunday. March 2 Musical Evening at Newcastle United Church - at 7 p.m. Gospel and contemporary music featuring the Spirit.Calm Praise Band, Sweet Charity and The Country Four. Free will offering offering toward Habitat for Humanity project in Guyana. Beginning March 3 Are you looking for work? - Gain creative and effective job search skills in the Job Finding Club. Meta Vocational Services in Bowmanville is offering a 3-week job search program from March 3 to 21, 2003. You will learn how to access the hidden job market, effective interview skills, preparing resumes and cover letters and more. The Job Finding Club is sponsored by Human Resources Development Canada. For more info contact Cathleen Lycett at 905-697-8887. Tuesday. March 4 St. John's Pancake Day - St. John's Anglican Church, 11 Temperance St., Bowmanville from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tickets available at the door: Adults $5; Children $2.50; Family $15. Tfggday» Marçh 4 Orono United Church Pancake Supper - 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.. Adults $5.00; Children $3.00. Beginning Tuesday. Mardi 4. "Just Me & The Kids" - Crossroads Christian Assembly presents a 12-week seminar scries for single parents and their children. Works with both parent and child addressing varied and complex issues facing single parent families. One time fee of $25 includes weekly meal for parent and up to 2 children ($5/additional child.) For more info and to register please call ^church office 905-987-9955. JJ