Last weekend, extraordinary scenes were played out at Barton-under-Needwood in Staffordshire.  Teddies were flung, wheeled, hoisted, floated and dropped around a gruelling five ride Alton Towers for teddies - all to raise funds for Toybox and the street children of Latin America.  The event was part of the Barton-under-Needwood Open Gardens Festival which is organised by all the churches in the surrounding area.

We at Toybox were curious, and delighted to be supported, so we sent along the Toybox Teddy to take part. 

First he had to undergo a ‘tedical’ examination, and go through an x-ray machine; after which he was issued with a special passport that allowed him to go on the rides… The picture on the left shows him having his pulse taken.

Ride number one was the Teddy Skywire. Toybox Ted was strapped to a shuttle and went hurtling to the top of St James’ Church Tower were he rang a gong and came hurtling back down again.

Teddy Oblivion saw Toybox Ted hoisted to the top of the Church Tower, from which he plummetted to earth. Para-tedics were on hand to provide instant hugs! Here he is on the left in the special seat, strapped in and ready to go. 

Ballistic Bear was possibly the most scary of the rides and only for teddies who are fearless flyers.  Toybox Ted was tucked into a rocket pod (left)and fixed onto the arm of a catapault which threw him across the churchyard and onto a safety net.

For the more sedate and nervous teddies there was the Teddy Hi-wire (below). Toybox Ted found this one easy, pedalling a bicycle along a tightrope with grace and ease. 

Toybox Ted came second in the Boat-a-Bear race, losing out to a fine able seabear called Daisy - never mind Toybox Ted!

We are proud to report that Toybox Ted completed all the rides and is now having a well-deserved rest! 

Foster Rogers, one of the organisers, told me that they have more than 500 teddies going on the rides over the course of the weekend. That’s a lot of queezy cuddly toys, and a lot of funds raised for street children in Latin America!  Thank you to everyone at Barton-under-Needwood who organised the event and to all the teddies and teddy-owners who took part.

Toybox Chair of trustees, Alastair Welford recently went on a trip to Guatemala, and he sent back this report about an important project that is helping abandoned children and babies with the support of Toybox. Alastair tells us in his own words:

“I first visited Amor del Ninos almost a year ago. This is a remarkable home which cares for 48 children ranging from 2 weeks to 11 years old. Approximately 40% of these children have special needs both intellectually and physically. The healing that takes place here is truly amazing. I have heard stories of particular children who would not even look at let alone talk to an adult, but are now behaving quite normally. This really is a testimony to the patience and commitment God has placed on the team’s hearts.

Toybox recently helped this project with some leapfrog grants to fund equipment and improvements at the project. The leapfrog grants were for computers which the children use, and new cots for babies. There are a lot of babies at this project - in fact I have never seen so many babies in one place! They have a very good ratio of carers who are extremely busy at feeding time! This work with babies is particularly special and very necessary, because one child is abandoned in Guatemala City every four days.

The older children have also been given new backpacks to go to school with their books. These are extremely popular with both the children and staff. The children because they are ‘cool’ (apparently!) and the staff because now when children go to school they do not leave a trail of books behind them!

The people at Amor del Ninos are so clearly committed to serving children abandoned on the street or rescued from horrendously cruel situations where they may have ended up on the street. The team’s dedication to the children and commitment to God for their calling to serve the children is truly inspirational. Toybox and our supporters should feel proud to be supporting them.

Please pray for Amor del Ninos - an amazing project that has benefited and will continue to benefit from our help, God willing. Thank you for your support for Toybox.”

Alastair Welford, June 2009

If you go down to Barton Under Needwood next weekend you can be sure of a big surprise…

Have you ever seen a teddy in flight?  Teddies at this village in Derbyshire will be boating, flying, trapezing and winching their way around St Jame’s churchyard, all to help Toybox save street children in some of the poorest countries in Latin America.

Barton’s Open Gardens Festival is this Saturday and Sunday 20th & 21st June from 1.00 - 6.00pm; and the most popular part of it is the infamous Alton Towers teddy challenge. The rides are strictly for soft toys only and they include a ‘Teddy Oblivion’ where teddies are dropped from the top of the church tower, ‘Teddy skywire’ where teddies are launched down a zip wire, and ‘Ballistic Bear’ where teddies are launched from a cannon.

Upon arrival, the brave teddies have to undergo a ‘tedical’ examination, security check, and passport control. As well as the local teddies, there is a special Toybox Bear taking part this year, and we are willing him on to do his bit for the street children.  Above are ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots of the bear preparing…

As well as the Teddy Alton Towers there will be 14 open gardens in the village. You can try your hand at country crafts including dry stone walling, thatching, blacksmithery, bell ringing and more. If you would rather just enjoy the scenery, there is a scarecrow display, an art exhibition and a wheelbarrow flower festival.

The weekend will be launched with a special Champagne Gala Evening at 7.30pm on Friday 19th June at which there will be a Toybox talk.

Can you think of a name for the Toybox teddy? Please post your suggestions below…