Turning a heart break into something that makes her heart sing is the inspiration behind Snuggle Buddies, a project created by 12-year-old Abby Wilson and supporting Te Tahi Youth.
Snuggle Buddies are weighted bears, each lovingly made by Abby in her Christchurch home.
“We have a bit of a production line – I think there’s about 50 teddies in the house right now!” Abby says.
The special bears, which range in weight from 300 gm to 5 kg, are becoming famous. They have their own Facebook page and website and are all for sale – with proceeds being donated to Te Tahi Youth.
The Snuggle Buddies were born from a school project. Abby, in Year 8 at Selwyn House School, was challenged to find something that makes her heart break and then turn that into a positive action to help a cause.
Abby says she chose mental health as her ‘heart break’.
“I’ve never really liked seeing people or hearing about people who are struggling. It’s always made me really sad.”
Abby knew about weighted blankets so set to work researching the science behind weighted items and why they are so helpful.
“I knew weighted items help people with insomnia and help people calm down. I thought a weighted teddy bear could help with that and people would also get the cuddle effect!”
Abby put the call out for pre-loved teddies to be donated to her cause. She then researched the best filling – sand.
“I dry out the sand on a tarpaulin and then weigh and bag it before putting just the right amount of weight into each teddy,” Abby says.
Abby has always had a love of crafting and took additional sewing lessons to learn the techniques and stitches needed to create each weighted bear. She also came up with a unique point-of-difference for her Snuggle Buddies.
“Each teddy has a miniature teddy attached to a bandanna around its neck. The miniature teddies are on a keychain so you can attach them to a bag or pencil case so if you’re feeling anxious or stressed during the day you can play with that teddy. It’s like a reminder that your big teddy is at home waiting for a hug.”
A bit more research and Abby and her family discovered recent funding cuts to services such as Te Tahi Youth, so decided to donate any proceeds from the bears to Te Tahi Youth.
“I thought the funding cuts were really upsetting because Te Tahi Youth would have lots of people coming in to see them and the help they provide benefits a lot of people.”
Abby met the team at Te Tahi Youth when delivering one of her teddies there.
“A staff member from Te Tahi Youth bought one of my teddies and it was so cool to go in and meet the team there. Everyone was cuddling my bear and then a little girl there gave it a cuddle and it looked like she really liked it. That was really awesome.”
Te Tahi Youth General Manager Fiona Kay says Abby is an inspiration.
“Abby is such a bright light and her passion and dedication to this project is amazing. We are blown away by her generosity and her big heart and are so humbled that she has chosen to support Te Tahi Youth with her Snuggle Buddies project. We can’t thank her enough,” Fiona says.
You can meet and purchase the Snuggle Buddies at Abby’s website.
Photo: Abby Wilson with Louise and Benji from Te Tahi Youth and Snuggle Buddy ‘Colin’