With the help of friends and volunteers, Bentley has managed to visit schools across the state — and even some in other countries — every year hoping to inspire another generation to read more by packaging a book and a bear together in a program supported by charity and donations.
On Monday morning, one of those schools affected by Bentley’s Smart Bear program decided to give back. Thomasville Primary School presented Bentley with a $200 donation, money raised from the students who benefit from an idea that is now more than a quarter century old.
“It’s very special,” Bentley said. “I was overwhelmed. This is the first time a school has ever given money to the program. I think it says a lot about what this program means and the impact it has on their lives. The money will go for more books.”
In addition to the $200, students also presented Bentley with the lifeline that keeps her program going — a material donation. Bentley received three boxes of material a TPS teacher found in her grandmother’s attic that will one day be transformed into stuffed teddy bears, hand crafted from scratch. In an average year, Bentley’s program distributes an estimated 5,000 bears to students.
Each bear takes an average of four to five hours to create. The patterns are cut from donated material, stuffed, decorated and sewn up by hand. A back pack is then attached to the bear where a book is placed before being turned over to its new owner. Bentley said she currently has seven volunteers helping create the bears.
“It’s a lot of work,” said Bentley. “To think [the children] collected their pennies to do this means a lot. We did a kindergarten class in Aruba last month and they were just fascinated. They had never had anything like it before. It’s going around.”
Bentley’s program originated as Hug-A-Bears and was used primarily by police and fire departments for children who have been affected by a house fire or an injury. In addition to Smart Bears, Bentley and her staff also create heart pillows for Moses Cone Hospital that are used by patients in intensive care. Due to the struggling economy and lack of essential donations, Bentley said she is going to have to stop the heart pillows program.
“When I was working with Guilford County Schools, [Bentley] would try to do all 70 schools,” said Connie Hicks, a volunteer with the program. “Thomasville is the first school to even think about a collection. It’s overwhelming. [Bentley] would never ask for a donation.”
Despite the difficulty of finding proper stuffing and the extensive amount of hours required to continue the program, Bentley said she will keep giving Smart Bears as long as schools keep asking her to come. The Smart Bear program is also available in Guilford, Rockingham and Alamance counties.
“We’ll do until we can’t do it anymore,” Bentley said. “We’re getting older.”
For more information on the Smart Bear program, contact Bentley at bentley27405@yahoo.com.
Staff Writer Eliot Duke can be reached at 888-3578, or duke@tvilletimes.com.
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