Brasher wanted to make special bears for the children. "It's a complicated little bear," she said. "Some of the sisters wanted to do the little cut-out ones where it's the same on both sides and put a face on one side. I said 'No.' If we are really going touch the children, it has to be something that they might want to keep."

The women committed in making 300 teddy bears throughout the year for the EMTs.

The Utah County Children's Justice Center, which investigates child abuse, soon contacted Brasher about donating bears to their center. "After going through interviews and physical exams, the children have to relive all the bad stuff that has happened to them," Brasher said. "As they leave, they get to pick out their own bear."

The children can find comfort and safety with the handmade bears. One day at a fabric store, Brasher was asked by a clerk about the project she was working on.

"I had a bear body in my hand. I was trying to find some ribbon to match the piping," Brasher said. "The clerk asked what that was. I was telling her about it when the woman behind me said, 'My daughter has one of those bears. And I can't begin to tell you what a sense of security that gives her.'"

For years, Brasher and her ward gave the center 50 bears a month. More recently that number has risen to 80 to match the need.

Brasher said the bears not only bless the lives of the children who receive them, but the people who serve.

One woman sews three teddy bears a day every day except Sunday. "She said to me, 'After my husband died, I thought there was not another thing I could contribute to the world. But the teddy bears show me that I can make a difference,"' said Brasher.

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