The SaskTel Pioneers did their part last week to help comfort local children who may have experienced traumatic situations. 

The volunteer group of current and former SaskTel employees donated nearly 20 handmade teddy bears to the Moose Jaw Police Service as part of the SaskTel Pioneer’s Hug-A-Bear Project. All of the teddy bears were handmade on a volunteer basis. 

“It was a bunch of retirees. We rented them some space at the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre and they set up a nice big sewing room. They brought in their sewing machines, and they brought in all the fabric and everything, and just got to work making these adorable, cute, little fleece teddy bears,” said Moose Jaw SaskTel Pioneers president Kristian Sjoberg. 

Sjoberg added that the Hug-A-Bear program is something that’s been run by the SaskTel Pioneers in other parts of the province before and this year, Moose Jaw’s chapter decided to take part. 

He said the program is a win-win scenario both for the SaskTel Pioneers and the Moose Jaw Police Service. 

“It's such a great idea and it's great for us. It's a great project for all of our retirees to really sink their teeth into, and then it's a social activity for our volunteers,” Sjoberg said. 

The teddy bears will be given out to children the police encounter and children who were victims of trauma or witnessed trauma.