A woman who has been obsessed with Care Bears since she was three has managed to amass more than 200 of the cuddly toys in a collection.
Jennifer Hawkins, 34, from Gloucester, only started going full gear with collecting the toys six years ago when she saw the collector’s editions.
Watch her story below.
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Video credit: Rumble
Her books, bedsheets, bags, clothes, and even underwear are all Care Bear-themed. She has even tattooed her favorite – Bedtime Bear – and takes a miniature stuffed toy version of him, nicknamed Beany, wherever she goes, whether it’s the supermarket or the hospital.
The single administrator has Asperger syndrome which is a form of autism. She explained that the cuddly toys help her cope with everything in life.
She said: “I got my first care bear for my third birthday, a bedtime bear, which is why I have a tattoo of that bear.
“I used to sit in front of the TV watching care bears for hours when I was little and I used to get the teddies as presents every birthday.
“Even up to going off to university I used to get the bears from friends and I took them with me when I left home for my studies. I could never let them go to a charity shop, that seemed cruel.
“I graduated in 2008 right into the credit crunch so I was short of money for a while and couldn’t invest in my collection the way I wanted to.
“But when I got into a steady job I started looking in shops and on eBay to try and complete some of the sets that I already had.
“I dread to think how much I have spent on them over the years, I’d estimate altogether they’re worth about £4,000($4,600).
“It’s an expensive hobby but I still haven’t bought as many as I would like to have.
“They are in every room of the house apart from the bathroom. I even bought several pairs of knickers.”
Because of her condition, it was hard for a young Jennifer to make friends. She often turned to her cuddly pals for comfort, talking and playing with them. Before she started seriously collecting them six years ago, she only had 30 of them in her collection.
Ever since she was diagnosed with Asperger’s when she was 27, Jennifer has come to understand why talking to the bears gave her such a relief.
The bears also hold a value that is more than what she paid for them because they remind her of the happy times she spent with her late granddad Phil as a child. He passed away in 1998 at the age of 72.
She said: “They remind me of my childhood – I spent a lot of time at my grandparents and the bears came over a lot with me.
“I always had trouble making friends so it made me feel better to have the bears.
“My teddies were always my friends so I would talk to them and play teddy school with them where I would teach them what I had learned at real school and my granddad would get involved and play along.
“Now they take me back to those happy family memories.
“As I got older and I found out I have autism, that made things a bit clearer and explained why I feel different.
“I find great faith in still having a little bear with me – because of my autism I find bus journeys very stressful, there are lots of noises and different smells and it can be very overwhelming.
“Giving Beany a little squeeze and talking to him gets me through it and takes my mind off my surroundings.
“You might talk to another person but I talk to them and it helps me.”
Jennifer loves her bears so much that she even gives out birthday presents to her favorite ones like Beanie who turned 21 this year.
The judgmental attitude of other people doesn’t affect her and some people even compliment her on her teddies.
Jennifer said: “Beany celebrates his birthday at the same time as me and I even bought a Barbie toy car and spray painted it blue as a present for him.
“He comes pretty much everywhere with me.
“My mom, Jeanette doesn’t like me talking to him or giving him kisses in public but she is getting better at understanding.
“I think she sees it as embarrassing but I can’t help that they make me feel better.
“My sister is obsessed with her dogs and treats them like her children, the bears are like my children.
“Normally people give me a funny look or say something rude but I have had people say lovely things too, like tell me Beany is adorable or ask me who he is.
“When I tell them his name and why I bring him around with me, they think it’s nice that I have that relief there.
“The only way to break the stigma is to be who you are and not hide away from it.”
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