‘One bear at a time’: Youngster fuels mission to send teddy bears to Ukrainian children
Courtesy of Dr. Michelle Steimer
Some of the stuffed animals that have been donated for Operation Teddy Friend are being housed at Waynesburg University – Southpointe.
Courtesy of Dr. Michelle Steimer
Nate Steimer sits among stuffed animals donated as part of Operation Teddy Friend.
Courtesy of Adrienne Tharp
Waynesburg University students Grace Deep and Christopher Battaglia show off a few stuffed animals donated for Operation Teddy Friend.
Young Nate Steimer saw a number of sad Ukrainian children on a television newscast.
The 7-year-old wanted to take away their sadness by sharing one of his teddy bears with the youngsters.
And so Operation Teddy Friend was born, a project launched to collect stuffed animals for the children of Ukraine who have been displaced and are in need of a “special friend.”
“He was watching the news with me one morning,” said Dr. Michelle Steimer, Nate’s mother. “He asked me, ‘Mommy why do these kids look so sad?'”
Steimer, assistant professor of counseling at Waynesburg University, said Nate had many questions, which she answered as best as she could for a youngster that age.
She said Nate has struggled with anxiety and carries a stuffed tiger to help him cope. She said it helps him relate to those to whom he wants to send the gifts.
“He saw something in those kids that nobody else would have seen,” she said.
As a result, more than 1,500 similar stuffed animals will be shipped to Ukraine next week. Steimer said most of the animals are bears, but other stuffed animals include bunnies, sloths, frogs, unicorns, dinosaurs, dragons and a duck. They are ticketed for refugees in Poland, Germany and Moldavia, with some going to children of families that will be arriving in Pittsburgh.
Waynesburg University is coordinating the effort through the Center for Service Leadership and the university’s Center for Corporate Social Responsibility.
Many entities that have a connection to Steimer or Waynesburg have been helpful with the collection and funding, including Ligonier Valley, Butler and Greater Latrobe school districts, numerous citizens from Washington and Ligonier, and John F. Kennedy Catholic School, where Nate and his brother, Will, who just turned 15, attend.
“It outgrew my house,” Steimer said with a laugh, referring to the number of donated stuffed animals. “We had such a response. We had families that just wanted to help, their kids wanted to do something to help, so they all brought bears. It’s a lot of bears.”
Since there were too many to be stored at Steimer’s Claysville home, the stuffed animals have found their way to the university’s Southpointe campus. Many Waynesburg staff and faculty members, as well as students, have contributed.
“It’s phenomenal working at a place where everybody got behind a little boy and it got so big,” Steimer said.
The office of Adrienne Tharp, director of the Center for Service Leadership and Bonner Scholars Program, has been used as a drop-off area for the stuffed animals.
“I thought this would be a great way to get involved,” Tharp said. “The response has been fantastic. The harsh reality is these (Ukrainian) kids aren’t going home. They don’t realize they are not going to return to their home. This is something that is tangible that they can keep that can give them some comfort.”
Each donated “friend” receives a handmade flower necklace that sports the saying, “From a Friend,” written in the Cyrillic alphabet. The idea came from Will, who is making some of the necklaces.
Steimer, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, and her husband, Andrew, a major, have made many connections through their years in the military. The connections are helping to make sure these “special friends” go exactly where they’re intended to go.
“We actually had people we’ve known through our military career that are working with children and are actually helping conduit the bears so that instead of them sitting in a warehouse, they’re all going to churches, counselors, doctors and soldiers who are working with children,” she said.
Those interested in sending stuffed animals can do so by emailing Steimer at msteimer@waynesburg.edu. A small requirement is that the animals donated have a neck to be able to hold the necklace. Folks also may donate funding to help with the costs for shipping. Steimer’s goal is to be shipping stuffed animals through May 15.
Steimer is proud of Nate for wanting to be involved in the undertaking.
“I’m really proud of his heart,” Steimer said. “He’s really proud of himself. He just wants to help. I’ve never seen him be proud of himself before.
“This was a lesson for him in life that despite all of the bad things that happen in the world, we have the power to be kind and we have the power to make a difference, be it one bear at a time half a world away.”