Kids at Kristi House Find a “Beary Good Friend”

by Jing Jing Zeng


Victoria Rabin

With the academic pressures of IB making our heads spin, CAS can easily get lost in the jumble for most of us – pushed into the back of our minds until we have more space to breathe.

For some, however, community service is high on the priority list. Victoria Rabin, a senior, devotes her time to Kristi House, an organization dedicated to helping children that have been sexually abused. Victoria donates handmade bears to the children as part of a project duly dubbed “Beary Good Friends.”

She worked tirelessly to complete a total of twenty-two bears over spring break for the requirement for the prestigious Girl Scouts’ Gold Award. The bears go to both boys and girls of all ages, and to ensure the health and safety of the children, Victoria uses hypoallergenic stuffing and childproof eyes and noses. The bears are sewn by machine, and once their colorful skins are completed, are carefully hand-finished and sent to Kristi house to become companions to lonely children.

If you are interested in helping a sexually abused child and gaining community service hours for CAS, you can donate material to Victoria. The bears are made of polar fleece, and all solid colors are acceptable, while printed patterns should not have too much space between images. For more information, contact Victoria at mblab@bellsouth.net or the IBIS Connections staff at ibis_connections@bellsouth.net.

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