Members of Girl Scout Troop 1452 from Redeemer Lutheran Church and School in Austin pose with their creations from the Build-A-Bear workshop store. The Scouts created one-of-a-kind teddy bears to donate to the Point Store at New Life.

"Our Point Store is a place where the girls of New Life can 'buy' items on a point system, with credits awarded for ongoing good behavior," said Lisa Brown, director of volunteers for New Life Children's Center. "It's a great way to show how good behavior translates to something real and tangible in their lives."

As the Girl Scouts created the bears, they prayed over and placed a heart into each bear before they were sewn up, said Jennifer King, a mother of one of the Girl Scouts. The Scouts also wrote personal notes to the New Life Girls.

"It was a great way to reach out to the New Life girls and give them something that we hope they will appreciate," said King.

The bears were snapped up very quickly after their arrival at the Point Store.

"It was so much fun to see which bears the girls picked out, because their choices each matched their personalities and interests," Brown said. "One of our girls wants to become a scientist, and when she saw a bear wearing a shirt with all the planets printed on the front, she was ecstatic!"

A ministry of LSS, New Life is a 24-hour residential treatment center for girls ages 11 to 17 who suffer from emotional and behavioral problems, usually the result of past abuse and neglect. Residents of New Life have a safe place to live and are provided with individual and group therapy, recreation, spiritual care and on-campus educational services. Click here for information about volunteer opportunities!