The joy of a friend; a cuddle?
Can you help? For lonely patients of all ages who are not in their homes or with loved ones, maybe not even in their home country, who have many lonely moments in hospital, nursing homes, care centres, recovering from treatment, with no one to cuddle or talk to for those special conversations. Next time you look at your grandchildren, nephews, nieces cuddle their teddy and the joy it gives them, think of how a teddy would make such a difference to a lonely child or even an adult having medical care.
Maybe you know how, or can ask or organize:
A knitting, crochet or craft group that could help, like the wonderful Australian ladies who sent the teddy above left
Friends from other Rotary clubs
A Teddy morning coffee
Have a Teddy picnic
All Teddies we receive are individually packed into a specially bag painted by patients at the Burma Children Medical Fund B.K. Kee Patient House in Chiang Mai (right). This gives them much JOY with the chance to show off their artistic skills. Some teddies remain there to greet new patients; others are sent to Mae Sot where they bring joy to patients in Thailand and Burma.
Please bear in mind, from a safety aspect, these are mostly going to children. In sending to CMIRC for customs purposes please list your donation a gift or of nominal value. Parcel post is cheaper and more reliable than one of the commercial delivery services. Our postal address is:
Chiang Mai International Rotary Club; P O Box 76, Phrasingh Post Office, Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand
Please contact Treasurer Nancy at treasurer@cmirotary.org if you wish to make a monetary donation. We have found a local source for cuddly teddies in two sizes for less than 220 baht (less than US$7) each. Small size, suitable for children under two years, shown at right.