CODY, WY — A Cody teacher at Glenn Livingston Elementary School created a nonprofit where she sews teddy bears out of fallen military or law enforcement uniforms and donates them to grieving families around the country.
The nonprofit is called Bears for Honor and was created by Keri Sommer, who has been sewing teddy bears for years, but the hobby took on new meaning when her husband Lee, a former police officer, lost a close friend.
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"He had worked with her for almost 20 years," Sommer said. "I just thought I could do something to help."
Sommer used the fallen officer's uniforms to create bears for her family members.
"I got the uniforms, I made bears for her kids, and the reaction from the family was just overwhelming," Sommer said.
That single act of kindness sparked something bigger. Sommer started the nonprofit, and in just two years has sewn close to 100 bears for families across the US.
Each bear takes approximately eight hours of work, and Sommer said she does her best to customize the bear to resemble the person.
"This will go out in the mail this week," Sommer said, holding up her most recent bear. "It was Deputy Thomas LeMay and he was killed in Oklahoma."
The bears have reached police families and military families alike, including Gold Star parents like Laura Stephens, whose 27-year-old son Adam Rosema was killed in the line of duty in 2007.
"I lost my son in Iraq 19 years ago," Stephens said a video interview. "I was really numb for a very long time. It was just the reality didn't sink in at first."
Stephens now owns one of Sommer's bears and said it is shown proudly in her home in Arizona.
"It warms your heart because it gives you something tangible," Stephens said. "I mean, it doesn't bring our child back, but it is his uniform."
Sommer said that families such as the Stephenses are exactly whom she aims to help, with her sewing room remaining a place of quiet reflection and purpose.
"Every family that gets their bear, it kind of reminds the family of the person that wore the uniform," Sommer said. "I think that's really important."
Sommer said that the nonprofit relies heavily on donations, with shipping and equipment costs adding up. Donations are more than welcome at her website, as she aims to keep the process completely free for the families.
It's a mission she said she's committed to, and one that she knows makes a big difference.
"It is more than the uniform," Sommer said. "It's them."
