Our guild has a Teddy Bear program - we take in used (or new) stuffed animals (Teddy bears and wanna-be's) and make a quilt appropriate to the size of the animal then give the sets to local organizations which work with kids in need. These organizations then give out quilts in whatever way they choose. Which animals? we throw them into the washer and dryer and whichever ones make it thru that cycle will work in our program. The benefits for needy children is obvious - they get a comfort toy of their own. The benefits for guild members? this is a great place to try out a new block, to practice quilting ideas, techniques and to get some instant gratification - since the quilts are usually small it doesn't take long to finish one. Great place to use up orphan blocks - to practice free motion quilting - a small project to make when taking a break from a big project - on and on! we make these year round then once a year we have a Teddy Bear Tea and invite the organizations who receive our animal/quilt sets to send a rep and let us know how they use the items. One young child received his then asked if he could have a few more - when asked why he explained that he would be returning to his remote village for Christmas and wanted to take gifts for other kids in his family - the organization donated them to him and he was proud that he would be able to give something to others at the holiday.