Glendaveny Teddy Bears came to the 2nd Battalion The Highlanders Army Cadet Force’s rescue with the preparation of uniforms.
Since returning to face-to-face training on 2 July, 2nd Battalion The Highlanders ACF have seen a sharp rise in young people joining the Cadet Force. This is positive news, but it comes with additional pressure on the logistics side of the HRFCA Professional Support Staff. This equates to a large number of uniform packs to be prepared and issued.
Glendaveny Teddy Bears is a project run by Buchan Day Care Services on behalf of one of our Armed Forces Covenant signatories and Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award holders, Aberdeenshire Council. Adults with a wide range of physical and/or mental difficulties make and sell the keepsake teddy bears in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.
During the pandemic, the demand for teddy bears naturally dropped, causing the shop to close during lockdowns. The amount of service users able to attend the workshop to help has also been much less than usual.
The service users enjoy a variety of different projects and tasks to suit their abilities, so they jumped at the opportunity to help the Battalion prepare their uniforms with the accompanying belts in different sizes. The belt is one of the small but time consuming tasks of the uniform preparation. One particular service user, Sean, realised they could help with this task.
Sean started off by cutting the various lengths of belts from a roll, folding and fitting the buckles and restrainers. Then the belts were marked for identification for waist size, and wrapped for storage for easy grab packs for the logistic staff.
The success of this partnership came to fruition at the Battalion’s Cadet Training Centre at Boddam on 9 September. The County Executive Officer, Major Stuart Eddie, accepted the first batch of prepared belts on behalf of the Quartermaster. He was very pleased with the quality of workmanship and very appreciative of the offered assistance offered.
There are other similar tasks that the Battalion may approach with the partnership. For instance, putting holes in bonnets and fitting the badges and plumes could be another project for the Glendaveny Teddy Bears.
The 2nd Battalion The Highlanders ACF and HRFCA Professional Support Staff greatly appreciate the efforts of the service users of Glendaveny Teddy Bears, especially Sean. Never underestimate what a difference help with what appear to be a small task, can make.
Visit the Glendaveny Teddy Bears HERE.
Find out more about 2nd Battalion The Highlanders ACF HERE.