The Melton ladies who knit and crochet trauma teddies have been praised for their work by Djerriwrarrh Masonic Lodge for their work carefully crafting trauma teddies for the local community.
Trauma teddies is an initiative by the Australian Red Cross, aimed at supporting children and adults experiencing distress, trauma, or illness.
More than 600 volunteer knitters and knitting groups take part in the trauma teddies initiative, crafting about 50,000 trauma teddies each year.
Ladies from all over Melton volunteer their time and donate their skills and materials to make hundreds of trauma teddies each year, with the Djerriwarrh Masonic Lodge of Melton donating funds toward trauma teddies for over 30 years.
The Djerriwarrh Masonic Lodge again donated $700 to the cause, in order to help purchase wool and materials.
Jean Dickson, coordinator of Melton Red Cross teddies drive, said the initiative has grown over the years as more and more Melton locals show an interest in dedicating their time to making a difference.
“I’ve been doing it for the past few years and have gotten quite a few responses from women who want to know more about it,” she said.
“We now have about 30 ladies who dedicate their time to knitting and crocheting.”
The group donate handmade, knitted teddy bears to local medical centres, SES units, police stations and other organisations which encounter vulnerable people in the community.
“The kids just love them,” she said.
The initiative has been running in Melton for 13 years, with some long standing volunteers knitting thousands of teddies during their time.
