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038-066 Shortcuts_SU05 Carmel Magazine 4/22/13 3:03 PM Page 16 SHORTCUTS GIVING BACK Photo: Kelli Uldall Beloved Bears from Loving Hands For almost seven years, Mary Jane Colleto has volunteered to crochet teddy bears for adoptive families at the Kinship Center. She uses a pattern handed down from her mother to bring smiles to children in new homes. ew things are more endearing than a teddy bear, unless it's the big smile F that comes to a child's face when he or she first cuddles with one. Mary Jane and Sal Colleto have created nearly 2,000 smiles like that. Since 2006, Mary Jane has crocheted these adorable toys for children girl," Mary Jane adds. She was making quilts for the Linus Program (an organization that provides hand-made blankets for critically ill children) when a friend suggested she contact Kinship. Each bear is unique and takes Mary Jane three hours to craft, using adopted through the Kinship Center, a non-profit that facilitates finding hypoallergenic yarn and a pattern called "Old-Tyme Teddy Bear," given to adoption is finalized," says Director of Development Bill Lutz. "They rep- two," says one adoptive mother. "They mean a lot to me. I'm moved by permanent family situations for children. "We present the bears when an resent that sense of permanence that we all strive for and need." In a very real sense, that's what Kinship Center is all about: providing a sense of security and permanence to children who had none. her by her mother. They're irresistible to children—and adults. "We have the fact that a person would do that for someone they don't know. They must have a big, kind heart." That they do. "The Colettos come here once a month like clockwork with The Colettos celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary this year. The 20 to 30 bears," Lutz says. "They are very much a part of the spirit of this bears, Sal coordinates with Kinship and takes care of logistics. "Mary Jane For more information on how to get involved wtih the Kinship Center, visit Monterey Peninsula natives are very much a team: Mary Jane crochets the is a superb craftsperson," Sal says. 66 "My mother taught me how to knit and crochet when I was a young C ARMEL MAGAZINE•SPRING/SUMMER 2013 place, part of the Kinship family." Because teddy bears are forever friends. www.kinshipcenter.org. —Michael Chatfield