For her recently completed Capstone Project, Newtown High School (NHS) student Maya Chaudhary made stuffed animals to support children during difficult moments in their lives.

The Capstone Project is a large-scale assignment every senior has to complete that reflects their interests and leaves a lasting, positive impact on the community. Landing on an idea can be easier said than done, since there are many topics students could choose for such a project.

This was the case for Chaudhary. She considered several ideas before landing on stuffed animals, one of them being a fashion show with self-designed clothing. Chaudhary said it would have fun, but with how busy she was this past spring — from costuming the high school's production of Mamma Mia! to singing with both the Newtown Singers and the a cappella group Accoustchicks — it would have been "a bit too ambitious."

Chaudhary wanted to draw from her years of self-taught sewing experience and work on a project that gave back to the community. She first learned the basics of sewing when she was around seven, and continued to independently develop her skills over the years.

"After doing some research, I discovered the need for this kind of project," Chaudhary said. "It is a simple idea. Some children find themselves in stressful situations, and something small like a stuffie can give them enough comfort to get through it."

Chaudhary decided to make and donate 20 stuffed animals to Newtown Police Department (NPD) for officers to keep in their cruisers and provide to children experiencing stressful or traumatic situations. She started working on the project in March, making sure everything was just right until the night before she delivered the stuffed animals to the police department in May.

Each stuffed animal took a decent amount of time to complete, longer than expected, according to Chaudhary.

"It was about an hour or more per animal, and I had some false starts," Chaudhary explained. "The first one was way too big ... I still have that one to provide comfort to me after the stress of doing a Capstone."

When Chaudhary delivered the stuffed animals to the police department, NPD Sergeant Adam James shared that officers experienced a situation earlier that morning where comfort items like her stuffed animals would have been especially valuable.

NPD Chief David Kullgren said this underscores "just how meaningful and timely the project was."

However, Chaudhary did more than create and donate stuffed animals. She said all Capstone Projects require research and a presentation, with her spending around 40-60 hours designing, researching, and creating the presentation for the project judges.

Chaudhary thanked her advisor, NHS theater teacher Janice Gabriel, for her help throughout the Capstone process. Her dad was the one who reached out to Kullgren, while her mom helped her get all the supplies she needed for the stuffed animals.

For the most part, Chaudhary said she did everything herself. She created the pattern for the stuffed animals and made each one by hand.

"I was surprised that I needed to create my own pattern. I had not really worked with patterns [before], and this taught me not only how to use them, but to create them," Chaudhary said.

She added there was more math than she expected in this process, but that it will be a very useful skill when she goes to school to become a costume designer later this fall.

"Knowing how to make patterns is a sought-after skill in my eventual line of work," Chaudhary said. "Although I will probably be learning that in college ... having a bit of experience [in advance] is great."

Now with her Capstone Project behind her, Chaudhary feels happy to have done something nice for the kids in the community who might be experiencing some challenges.

"It was a satisfying experience all the way around," she said.

Her mother, Jen Chaudhary, said she was extremely proud of her daughter.

She added, "[Maya] worked long and hard to create something that will be a comfort to children in need. But then again, this is just a sneak peak into her heart and how much she cares about people and her community."

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.