'He looks at sadness and turns it upside down': 12-yr-old Campbell makes teddy bears for sick kids

Tasmania’s Campbell’s Remess is not your typical 12 year old boy. For the past three years he has spent all his spare time making teddy bears for sick children.

"Lots of people like skateboarding and socialising with their friends, I just like coming home and sewing".

Campbell Remess has an unusual hobby: sewing. Specifically, he makes teddy bears, and gives them to children at the local hospital.

"If Campbell could be on that sewing machine 24/7, he would," said his mother, Sonia.

Campbell is one of nine children, so when he had the idea to give kids in hospital Christmas presents, the only option was to make them himself.

"The first time i took a lot of practice," said Campbell. "I hadn't sewn anything before".

He learned by trial and error and downloading patterns from the internet, teaching himself along the way. His first bear took five hours to make, but now he has it down to about an hour.
Campbell Remess sews teddy bears for sick kids.
Source: The Feed
Some people donate money to the project, but he spends most of his pocket money on fabric, doing extra chores to buy supplies.

"I've just hijacked mum's machine since," he said, laughing. "She hasn't got it back.

Campbell visits the hospital every Thursday, delivering new bears and visiting kids who he's given gifts to before.

"He looks at sadness and tries to turn it upside down," said Sonia.

There has been sadness in his family too. Five years ago, his father Nathan was diagnosed with cancer. They removed a tumour the size of a tennis ball, but there is an 80 per cent recurrance rate.

"When we discovered dad had cancer it was really upsetting," said Campbell. "Cancer gets worse with stress, so I made him the bear, so he could get rid of the cancer".

Since he got his bear, the cancer hasn't returned. It's the longest period he has been cancer free since his diagnosis.

"There's a little big of magic in them," said Nathan. "A lot of magic in Campbell though".

Campbell explained his project with this: "I think being kind and not mean will change the world."
Campbell Remess sews teddy bears for sick kids.
A patient, Connor, and his new Winner Bear mate George. Source: The Feed
Tune in to #TheFeedSBS at 7.30pm Monday - Friday on SBS 2, stream live, or follow us on FacebookTwitterInstagram,Tumblr, or Vine. 

 

Share
Follow The Feed
Through award winning storytelling, The Feed continues to break new ground with its compelling mix of current affairs, comedy, profiles and investigations. See Different. Know Better. Laugh Harder. Read more about The Feed
Have a story or comment? Contact Us

Through award winning storytelling, The Feed continues to break new ground with its compelling mix of current affairs, comedy, profiles and investigations. See Different. Know Better. Laugh Harder.
Watch nowOn Demand
Follow The Feed
2 min read

Published

By Rani Chaleyer
Source: The Feed


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world