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White Rock based tattoo artist Taylor Menzies has started a “Bear-for-Bear” campaign in which every tattoo she does of a stuffed animal, she is donating one to a charity.
Menzies aims to donate at least 50 stuffed animals by the new year to Hope and Health, a non– profit aimed at bettering the lives of Indigenous children and youth.
Menzies says the inspiration for this project comes from her own experience.
Menzies said that she was a victim of sexual abuse as a child, and when she was going through police interviews, she was given a stuffed animal to comfort her.
“It carried me through a lot of my life, and I unfortunately don’t have it anymore. But I will never forget the safety, comfort, warmth that it brought me,” Menzies said.
Menzies says a few years ago, a client shared her meaningful story on why she was getting the tattoo of a teddy bear.
A White Rock-based tattoo artist has come up with a novel way to use her ink for good this holiday season. For every bear she tattoos, the artist is donating a toy to Indigenous youth.
As CBC’s Sohrab Sandhu reports, the initiative has inspired the community and helped the artist herself heal from past trauma.
“I realized that it is not just an experience that I had, that a lot of people have a lot of very meaningful moments with these stuffed animals,” the tattoo artist said.
From parents getting tattoos of their children’s favourite furry toys to people grieving the loss of their loved ones, Menzies says, her clients get the stuffed animal tattoos for a variety of reasons.
“It’s had such a significant meaning to them, [they] come in and want them on their bodies forever as a way to continuously carry them with them throughout their lives,” said Menzies.
Being trusted with these tattoos is a big full-circle moment for Menzies.
“I also feel like it’s a very healing experience for me to get to do them.”
Menzies says tattoos of lost childhood bears, comfort objects from difficult home lives, are symbols of safety during anxiety.
And that is why she is keen on sharing them with others.
Toys donated to charity
Menzies is donating the toys to Hope and Health, a non-profit started by her mother.
At the charity’s event, on Dec. 9, Menzies brought in a batch of 50 teddy bears.
Along with toys and treats, basics like toothbrushes and tuques are packed into bags to be delivered to children and youth across various First Nations in the province.
“[Menzies] is such a special, person that’s doing something and giving back to the community,” said Carl Valentine, a club ambassador with Vancouver Whitecaps, which has been partnering with the non-profit since it started.
“I think if more people like this did this, our world would be a better society,” said Richard Palmer Thomas, an Indigenous youth volunteer with Hope and Health.
He says he has seen the impact firsthand while working with Hope and Health, which he considers his family.
“To be able to give back to the community and see their faces light up and to put a smile on their face, you really see how their enjoyment of it fills up the room,” says Palmer Thomas.
“It just brings a community together and unites us all as one.”
