Marly Bird

YouTube Instructor, Knitter, Crocheter, Teacher, Friend

  • Patterns
    • Crochet Patterns
    • Knitting Patterns
    • Planned Pooling
    • Marly Bird Crochet Along
    • Marly Bird Knit Along
    • Classic and Colorful Crochet Sock Workshop
    • Bicrafty-champions-workshop
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • Craft Inspiration
    • Giveaways
    • Round Ups
    • Reviews
  • About
    • Newsletter Sign up
    • Contact
    • Media
    • Terms of Use || Privacy Policy

May 29, 2017 By admin 36 Comments

Amy Berman shares the Mother Bear Project

Amy Berman shares the Mother Bear Project

Amy Berman shares the Mother Bear Project on the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Bird.

A native of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, Amy Berman is a graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia with a major in journalism.  She lived in the Pacific Northwest for almost 15 years and worked in advertising. Married and the mother of two children, she always wanted to make a difference for women and their children. She does that through Mother Bear Project which she founded in 2003 as a way to help children in Africa that are in regions highly affected by HIV/AIDS. She has traveled to Africa numerous times to distribute bears and to identify organizations who will distribute the bears as unconditional gifts of comfort and hope to children who often have too little of both.

**this post contains affiliate links**

 

The Mother Bear Project is dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of a hand-knit or crocheted bear. The simple gift of a hand-knit bear with a tag signed by the knitter has touched children with the message that they are unconditionally loved.

The response has been overwhelming, with people wanting to help from all over the world. Thousands of patterns have been distributed, and wonderful bears have been received from people of all ages, backgrounds and knitting abilities.  It has brought people together to do something kind in the face of a horrible problem.

If you have a little time, there are pictures of children with their bears at THIS LINK. It is a precious collection, we think will have you gathering your materials and casting on right away.

Continue to follow the adventures of the Mother Bear Project at their website, www.MotherBearProject.org, plus there is a Facebook page and Ravelry Group.

If you missed getting to watch or hear this visit when it was live, it has been recorded and posted, the video from Marly’s studio is in her Facebook page, and the audio is at the podcast location: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/yarnthing/2017/05/30/amy-berman-shares-the-mother-bear-project

Yarn Suggestions for Bears

In the FBLive broadcast, many of the commenters mentioned that they love using Red Heart Yarns to make these Mother Bears.

Red Heart Yarns makes a variety of wonderful acrylic worsted weight yarns that would be perfect for a bear. Here are some Marly Picked:

Red Heart Super Saver

Red Heart Super Saver Stripes

Red Heart With Love

Red Heart Soft

Red Heart Reflective

Red Heart Ombre

 

FB Live Broadcast

 

5/30/17: Behind the Scenes of the Yarn Thing Podcast with Marl…

5/30/17: Behind the Scenes of the Yarn Thing Podcast with Marly Bird. Guest: Mother Bear Project.

Shownotes: https://marlybird.com/amy-berman-shares-mother-bear-project/

Posted by Marly Bird on Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Filed Under: Show Notes Tagged With: charity, show notes, shownotes

Previous Post: « Knit Golf Club Covers
Next Post: Free Knit Lace Shawl Patterns »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah Dawn says

    May 30, 2017 at 10:49 am

    Oh, man, this podcast brought me to tears. Unconditional Love indeed. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Vicki Lund says

    May 30, 2017 at 12:16 pm

    Such a touching podcast about unconditional love and giving with the teddy bears. Amy is so interesting to listen to and inspiring. How lucky we are if we only look to the other parts of the world who live in conditions of fear and death every day. There’s reasons to wake up and be grateful each morning.

    Reply
  3. Stephanie Robinson says

    May 30, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    I just bought my patterns before I caught your show .. Such unconditional love!! I am going to do this. Hoping to win a knit kit. I already getting the crochet version. I’m thinking maybe the knit ones use less yarn??

    Reply
  4. Bernadette Hammond says

    May 30, 2017 at 12:48 pm

    Amy Berman. You have started such an amazing project with much unconditional love.

    Reply
  5. Amberly says

    May 30, 2017 at 1:43 pm

    This is an inspiring story to hear about unconditional love and teddy bears.

    Reply
  6. Karen GrandPre' says

    May 30, 2017 at 2:11 pm

    This was a nice story about unconditional love and teddy bears.

    Reply
  7. Erica Mueller says

    May 30, 2017 at 2:21 pm

    Children give, and need, unconditional love.

    Reply
  8. Cindy says

    May 30, 2017 at 2:48 pm

    Amy shares so much “Unconditional Love” with her Mother Bear Project. What an inspiration she is. <3
    I'm excited to buy her patterns, move some yarn out of my stash and start using my scrap yarn for such a great cause. Amy's personal touches of sharing the photos so those who have made them can see them in the children's arms, notes and recognition to those who participate and donate make it even more special.
    Thank you Marly for another great podcast. Love you!

    Reply
  9. Ida Williamson says

    May 30, 2017 at 4:59 pm

    Very touched by Amy’s unconditional love. An amazing podcast and charity.

    Reply
  10. Chris Lopez says

    May 30, 2017 at 6:03 pm

    What an amazing podcast! Amy had most of us in tears listening about her story of so many people sharing unconditional love with these precious little ones. I’ll be making bears–just can’t decide whether to knit or crochet. Might have to do both!!

    Reply
  11. Betty Ponder says

    May 30, 2017 at 10:06 pm

    Amy is an amazing women who encourages all to give unconditional love to the little ones who need it most.

    Reply
  12. Rhonda says

    May 30, 2017 at 10:32 pm

    What an inspiring podcast today with Amy. Her unconditional love for these children is so beautiful!

    Reply
  13. Donna Frunzi says

    May 31, 2017 at 4:26 am

    This story was amazing!!!! Thank you for sharing your unconditional love with us! I can’t wait to get started!

    Reply
  14. Michelle Hanson says

    June 1, 2017 at 5:59 am

    I usually listen to podcasts while I’m driving or doing chores – fortunately I was doing the latter this time so I wasn’t trying to drive in tears! I was so touched by Amy’s message of demonstrating unconditional love to “the least of these, my brethren,” and I hope that she gets a flood of new bear makers (including me!)

    Reply
  15. aquiltersjoy says

    June 1, 2017 at 6:50 am

    This is such a wonderful project and the perfect way to express UNCONDITIONAL LOVE to a little child who is so hungry for that love. I teach people how to knit and crochet and I think this would be a wonderful project for us to spend our time on.

    Reply
  16. Debbie Carter says

    June 1, 2017 at 11:59 am

    I so enjoyed the Mother Bear show. We all can use unconditional love. I”m going to get my granddaughter to crochet some bears with me I think she will really enjoy making some and knowing that where they are going will make it even more special. Thank you again for taking your time to do the Yarn Thing Podcast.

    Reply
  17. Dorothy Monica says

    June 1, 2017 at 4:03 pm

    What an amazing story of unconditional love

    Reply
  18. Heather Coulter says

    June 1, 2017 at 4:57 pm

    Amazing interview – very inspirational- unconditional love From Kentucky.

    Reply
  19. Liz Keefer says

    June 1, 2017 at 7:32 pm

    What a special show! Thanks for encouraging us to use our craft to reach beyond our inner circles and spread unconditional love to those that need it most.

    Reply
  20. Valerie says

    June 1, 2017 at 11:22 pm

    I am joining the Ravelry group right after I finish the post. I want to make a bear to help send unconditional love to these children. I really was touched by Amy’s story. I am in awe of her willingness to listen to her calling and not be stopped by anything!

    Reply
  21. Yvonne Hurlbert says

    June 2, 2017 at 7:12 am

    This is such an inspiring story of how one person can show unconditional love to so many. I cannot wait to get started on some bears!

    Reply
  22. Mary Kay Smith says

    June 2, 2017 at 2:38 pm

    The best example of unconditional love I’ve seen all week! Can’t wait to get started on my bear!

    Reply
  23. Linda says

    June 3, 2017 at 6:01 pm

    Children will give you their unconditional love.

    Reply
  24. Vicki L Lynch says

    June 3, 2017 at 8:00 pm

    I love that the bears are given with unconditional love. Amazing project.

    Reply
  25. Becky J (Mplsbetty) says

    June 5, 2017 at 8:06 am

    I was so touched by Amy’s story and Mother Bear Project. I was listening in my car and teared up as she told about the little boy who ran back to his home to retrieve his bear. I live in the Minneapolis area and hope I can offer help to this wonderful project. Thank you for sharing this message of unconditional love.

    Reply
  26. Trisha says

    June 6, 2017 at 10:23 pm

    Mother bears = unconditional love, absolutely.

    Reply
  27. Michelle Brewer says

    June 7, 2017 at 3:09 pm

    I would love to win a lot to show unconditional love. If not I am definitely getting a pattern. Thank you so much for telling your story!

    Reply
  28. Wendy S Senter says

    June 7, 2017 at 9:45 pm

    What a beautiful story of unconditional love! I usually listen to podcasts while I’m driving–it’s hard to drive with tears in your eyes 😉 Looking forward to knitting/crocheting several bears.

    Wendy

    Reply
  29. tmcolon says

    June 13, 2017 at 11:02 am

    I’d heard of the Mother Bear Project on another podcast, but never heard the backstory or understood the scope of this project. This podcast motivated me to get involved; Amy has so much love and passion that it just leapt from the speakers of my phone while I listened.

    Reply
  30. Jill H. says

    June 13, 2017 at 1:53 pm

    I so admire those who can craft toys to give with their unconditional love. I wish I had the patience.

    Reply
  31. amy says

    June 13, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    Unconditional love is something that we all need to give more of, and getting it is always nice too.

    Reply
  32. elliottma says

    June 26, 2017 at 3:59 pm

    I appreciated this podcast and your work showing Unconditional Love. I have knitted for charity before and wondered how much it was really appreciated. I think I need to knit or crochet a bear.

    Reply
  33. Lori Biamonte says

    July 6, 2017 at 6:37 am

    In honor of my four grandchildren, for whom I have unconditional love, I knit four Mother Bears. I now have a new grandpuppy so it’s time to make a puppy bear in her honor.

    Reply
  34. Andrea Hercules says

    July 12, 2017 at 11:55 am

    Amy’s story has moved me and it breaks my heart to hear children going through the lost of one or both parents or even being ill. I had to order a kit right away while listening to the podcast. Thanks Amy for doing such a great thing and showing the cost such Unconditional Love.

    Reply
  35. Ali Anderson says

    August 3, 2017 at 8:33 pm

    What a wonderful show about how unconditional love can change the world. Probably would have been better to not listen to the great story on my drive in as it was so moving I was tearing up.

    Reply
  36. Geraldine Scott says

    August 10, 2017 at 2:58 pm

    Unconditional love and teddy bears go hand in hand!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search The Marly Bird Site

MARLYBIRD.COM is a division of YARNSPORTS. LLC

  • Patterns
  • Videos
  • Blog
  • About

Copyright © 2022 · Yarnsport LLC

  • Patterns
    • Crochet Patterns
    • Knitting Patterns
    • Planned Pooling
    • Marly Bird Crochet Along
    • Marly Bird Knit Along
    • Classic and Colorful Crochet Sock Workshop
    • Bicrafty-champions-workshop
    • Back
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • Craft Inspiration
    • Giveaways
    • Round Ups
    • Reviews
    • Back
  • About
    • Newsletter Sign up
    • Contact
    • Media
    • Terms of Use || Privacy Policy
    • Back