Yellowknife (Dec 22/04) - It's hard to resist Janet Naskathey's happy smile and pleading words.

Hopefully some generous person will be won over by her pearly whites and will volunteer to take over her annual Christmas task.

Janet Naskathey, known as the "teddy bear lady" around the territories, is hoping some intrepid soul will step forward and take over her job of collecting stuffed animals to deliver to kids in different communities each year.

Naskathey has picked up spare stuffed animals everywhere she goes for the last four years to amass collections of teddy bears and other furry animals in time for Christmas.

She then packs them in boxes and sends them to Arctic Sunwest for delivery. This year's lucky community is Fort Resolution, where the toys will be distributed to needy children.

Now that she's relocating to Red Deer to go to school, Naskathey is on a search for a replacement teddy bear lady for next Christmas.

"I need somebody to take over. I'm looking for somebody who has a heart and a lot of time on their hands," she said just before shipping out this year's cache of 100 stuffed animals.

The cause is dear to her heart, since Naskathey never had a Christmas as a child, being raised on a trapline with no gifts or decorations to mark the holiday.

"When Christmas came along, there was nothing," she said.

The mother and cancer survivor can't bear to have other children spend the holidays like she did growing up in Saskatchewan.

In the past four years, children in Lutsel K'e, Wrigley, Jean Marie River and Rae Lakes have reaped the kindness of the teddy bear lady's packages.

Naskathey remains hopeful that someone will step forward to assume her generous holiday duty.