Carson, California: A group of formerly homeless Veterans issue a challenge to make our world a better place using teddy bears sewn in therapy.

GreenVetsLA, a non-profit organization started in 2010 by Jim Cragg a service disabled veteran, employs formerly homeless veterans as part of a work therapy program. The bases of this program is to teach sewing skills to struggling veterans and give them tools that will allow them to rejoin the society that they once served. All the projects that are taken on have a socially relevant component such as assembling first aid kits for the military or sewing environmentally friendly reusable cloth shopping bags.

For years the veterans have sewn the “Battle Bear”, a stuffed toy, made of camouflage material that matched the uniform of the deployed soldier. The soldier would take a picture with the bear, put a unit patch on it and send it back to the loved one to serve as a connector and companion during their absence.

This concept has morphed into the “Challenge Bear”, an inspirational bear made of durable military cloth scrap that comes with a challenge card from the veterans who created it to take on a social action project. Whether volunteering in a soup kitchen or doing a park or beach cleanup, this bear, strapped to the persons belt or backpack becomes a buddy on a journey to improving community. A Veteran in the program had the idea of taking a “selfie” with the bear while doing a “selfless” act and then posting that photo on social media to inspire others to engage in bettering our environment and our world.

As a nod to the formative years they spent in the military, the Veterans designed a special military / law enforcement Challenge Bear. Their hope is that teams, squads, and platoons would attach their unit patch and adopt a Bear for unit runs, road marches and other physical challenges.

For a recovering Veteran to have a person purchase and value a product they made is a victory. Our goal is to see viral demand for a Made in America, Veteran crafted bear that inspires and motivates others to do their part for community and country.

Challenge Bear is currently a Kickstarter campaign seeking support: www.kickstarter.com/projects/1507757642/challenge-bear.

To learn more about the program, see www.GreenVetsLA.org or www.VetCorpsUSA.org.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 9th, 2014 at 20:00 and is filed under Charity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.