Brandon Twp.- Ann Waldera has been knitting since she was a young girl of 10. Now 84, she knits and crochets for children, and, the police.
Waldera has used her talent as a way to help others? making stuffed animals, dolls, and other toys for Brandon deputies to give to children.
‘It makes me happy to look into a policeman’s face when I give these to them,? said Waldera, holding a dark brown horse with red saddle that she crocheted and stuffed. ‘I know I help children by making these.?
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Mike Searing of the Brandon substation agrees.
‘We give the stuffed toys to young children at the scene of a crisis,? he says. ‘It helps them to focus on something other than the crisis and gets their attention on something good.?
Additionally, the toys are good public relations for the police, particularly, says Detective Chris Pacholski, since there are some parents who use the police as a way to threaten their children to be good, and thus make them fearful of police officers.
‘We don’t want kids to be afraid to come to us,? said Searing. ‘These toys help us to do our job.?
A member of the Golden Age Club in Waterford, Waldera uses donated yarn to make her creations, which she has also donated to the HAVEN shelter, the Independence Township substation, Pontiac childcare, various hospitals and nursing homes. She has made knit caps for babies, slippers for seniors, head coverings for soldiers to wear under their helmets, and covers for wheelchairs, too.
‘I want to keep my needles going at all times,? says Waldera. ‘I plan to do this ’til God calls me home.?