Known for sporting her fluffy bear coat, Cantabrian Lesley Ottey’s summer outfit has changed to match Re-purpose Pals - purple overalls and a hat to match the logo of the growing organisation.
The past few months have been a whirlwind of milestones for Repurpose Pals, with the new employment of a general manager and a trip to Auckland.
Hundreds of smiles and soft toys have been made all around New Zealand.
In its three and a half years of running, Re-purpose Pals has washed, repaired, stuffed and created over 12,888 weighted soft toys, and 3888 were distributed this year alone.
The soft toys have been upcycled, gifted and shared with people in need.
From weighted toys to puppets and storytelling sets, even Kaiapoi Ted was created through Repurpose pals.
They have also donated bears for Kaiapoi Ted’s teddy bear hunt during the school holidays.
The trip to Auckland came ‘‘out of the blue’’ for Re-purpose Pals.
A Resource Teacher of Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) reached out to Lesley asking if she would run workshops.
She was flown up to Auckland to work with five schools and a group of RTLBs.
Lesley provided a hands-on experience, which received great feedback.
In two and a half days, she ran multiple workshops where over 400 weighted toys were made. Soft toys were given to tamariki or kept for themselves.
Students learnt to sew, quickly unpick and design a toy for their needs - some wanted heavy toys, some wanted light. Big or small, each soft toy provided comfort.
Lesley has seen many smiles from Re-purpose Pals.
Her favourite memory of the business is ‘‘just watching any young person adopting their weighted toy and giving them a name and a home’’.
Children get to add ribbons and personalise their toy, upcycling it to what they want it to be.
She sees children come in, not wanting to be there, ending up calm over time and enjoying themselves.
Moving forward, Repurpose Pals is looking to gain a sponsor, working with corporates and more schools.
The project is a non-profit organisation and gives back to the community.
‘‘It’s about memory making,’’ Lesley says.
