 Bernice Ullman has made the collection and distribution of stuffed animals a project for the Jewish Federation of Greater Danbury. Last year, nearly 6,000 new and gently used stuffed bears were given to abused, needy, orphaned or sick children around the world.
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NEWTOWN -- Nine years ago, Bernice Ullmann and her husband, Bud, went to a tag sale and spotted a box of stuffed animals."If they weren't sold they were going to be tossed," Bernice Ullmann said. "I couldn't let that happen.
Instead of becoming trash, the box became a treasure chest of animals when the couple took and donated it to a shelter in Westchester, N.Y.
That initial rescue and donation of the huggy, comforting toys was the beginning of what Ullmann calls the Share-a-Bear program. Since then, the project has grown "" a lot.
In 2005 alone, nearly 6,000 new and gently used stuffed bears were distributed to abused, needy, orphaned or sick children in Israel, Africa, Nicaragua, New York state and Connecticut.
Though Ullmann and her husband planted the seed for the project, it was Dan Wolinsky, then president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Danbury, who put it on the fast track. He asked Ullmann, herself a former Federation president, to make collection and distribution of stuffed animals a Federation project.
She remembered saying to him, "I'll find someone who wants them."
Since then, the project, though still supported by Federation, has taken on a life of its own. Each year, more and more donations of new and gently used animals are made and, as word spreads, more requests for animals are made by a variety of organizations.
Recipients of these donations are wide-ranging and this year include, but are not limited to, Ashlar of Newtown, Healing the Children, the Hispanic Center, Quest for Peace in Nicaragua, shelters throughout the state, the AIDS ministry in Danbury, Headstart in Waterbury, a church group that sends them to Africa, Meals on Wheels, a camp for severely burned children and a least four groups in Israel.
The organizations call her and ask for the number of animals they need. They then collect them from Ullmann and distribute them to children who could benefit from them.
"They do a wonderful job," said Sheila Gutierrez, office manager of the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury. "Whatever we ask of Bernice, she does her best to get it. The program is beautiful. We really thank her and the group she works with."
That group includes Newtowner Mandy Monaco, who Ullmann credits with collecting most of the animals.
Monaco, president of Women Involved in Newtown, or WIN, collects from Girl Scouts and all the schools in town.
"It feels good to do this," Monaco said. "People in Newtown have so much. This is just recycling what they don't need. Parents are thrilled to clean out closets and kids don't miss the animals because they have so many."
Monaco, who owns "a big SUV," said before Easter she picks up about eight to 10 carloads of animals from all the schools and Girl Scouts. An equal amount is brought in before Christmas. Each carload is about 20 plastic bags of animals."In between, I collect about five loads," she noted. "I won't pick up until there are enough animals for at least one carload."
She does all this volunteer work because, she said, "it's part of helping the world to be a better place. Everybody wins."
Once the animals are in, members of the Greater Newtown Chapter of Hadassah sort them according to size and holiday tradition and inspect them to see if they need mending or batteries.
"The women are wonderful," Ullmann said. "We couldn't do it without them and neither could the boys and girls who receive them."ä
Bring donations of new or gently used stuffed animals to the Newtown Senior Center, 14 Riverside Road, Sandy Hook on Fridays only or weekdays at the office of the Jewish Federation of Greater Danbury, 69 Kenosia Ave., Danbury.