Teddy Bear Tea brings four friends together
For The Salvation Army Alaska Division Community Advisory Board member Lois Lester, creating bears for the Teddy Bear Tea and Auction is as much about working with friends as raising funds for the Army's programs.
Lois is part of a group of four ladies that work all year on gathering things for their bears. "We call ourselves the four friends. It is a lot of fun. We collect material throughout the year."
For Lois and her friends creating different bears has been a yearly event. "We have been dressing them for maybe close to 8 years," said Lois.
The four friends have won some awards every year for their effort but go into starting the project without any idea of what they are going to make. "Any one of us can come up with an idea." said Lois. "We might see something some place and think 'that would probably work' or we might wake up at three o’clock in the morning and think 'that is a great idea for a bear.' We really don’t know what we are going to do until we get together and decide."
Lois said she loves doing the bear project with her friends but the real reward is the support the event provides The Salvation Army. For Lois and her friends working to help The Salvation Army and its programs is what is important.
"It is close to my heart and really it is close to the hearts of the other three members, Sara, Dee and Linda," she said. "It is extremely important because I know what the Salvation Army does. They work so hard to try to help others, and they help others in so many ways."
Teddy Bear Tea is September 22, 2018 and will be at the Anchorage Corps Community Center. There are still bears available for decoration if you would like to participate and create a bear for auction. Please call 907-276-2515 for more information.