THROUGH its teddy bear drive, the Durban North Methodist Church has continued to bring copious amounts of joy to children who are fighting cancer.

A total of 53 crocheted teddy bears were handed over to CHOC last week.

Prior to that, the church donated 80 teddies in December.

Madeline Pearson, who co-ordinates the drive, said members of the church, as well as outsiders, made it all possible.

“We started sewing teddies at the beginning of 2021 and chose CHOC as the beneficiary so the children who are fighting cancer feel loved,” she said.

This year, the church will donate beanies, scarves, blankets and bed socks to the elderly.

“Materials are donated, but some buy their own wool,” she said. Ntobeko Zama, the CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation regional co-ordinator, thanked the church for its contribution.

“Thank you to the church for thinking of CHOC. These teddies really lift the children’s spirits,” she said.

She added that the children’s faces lit up when they received their teddies last year.

“We used to have people come to CHOC and conduct programmes with the children to keep them busy but, because of Covid-19, we had to stop. These teddies keep them occupied,” said Zama.

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