Teddy Bear Organizations!
Bear Givers is dedicated to sharing the gift of giving with people everywhere, one teddy bear at a time, but we’re not the only ones who see the value of teddy bears. Nonprofits and individuals everywhere have picked up on the importance a cuddly friend can have for those who are going through a difficult time in their lives. We’ve seen them, and we think we are in amazing company within the teddy bear community! However, just because others also give away teddy bears, doesn’t mean we are like all the other groups out there. In this blog, we’re going to highlight some of our fellow teddy bear aficionados and talk about how we still stand out!
Our Canadian Counterpart
Photo courtesy of: Teddy Bears Anonymous
Teddy Bears Anonymous provides individually sealed teddy bears that can be safely donated to children in hospitals! More importantly, because they are 100% sealed straight from the factory they are allowed to go with a child to surgery, and even CAT scans! They partner with multiple hospitals in Canada, and every child enrolled is gifted one of these special bears to keep them company during their stay. Because each bear is wrapped, the coronavirus pandemic has made their work that much more important. And these teddy bears don’t just help the children going through a hard time, but the essential workers who may have a hard time calming and reassuring those very kids. Being taken away in an ambulance can be scary for anyone of any age, and a teddy bear really helps! Take it from Brett Penny, a primary care paramedic in Balcarres, Sask., who recently gave one of the bears to a young girl with a head injury. “It was a little girl who was just terrified of this big stranger in her house and I was able to give her the bear and she just lit up. [It] made her day a lot easier – for myself and her," he said. It relieves pressure on him, he said, to be able to ease a child "through those stressful situations and make it 'bear-able' for them.’” (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/making-it-bear-able-charity-teddy-bears-1.5848269 )
The Movement in Mexico
Photo Courtesy of: AP
The coronavirus has truly affected the entire world, and we have continued to prevail and push forward even south of the American border. In Mexico, they have gotten especially creative with their teddy bears by making teddy bears for the loved ones of those who have passed away from the virus, out of the clothing of their passed loved ones. Erendida Guerrero started her business making teddy bears for families of victims of violence. As Ciudad Juarez became a more dangerous place, her bears offered loved ones a chance at closure, to feel like they could say goodbye or hold onto the bear until they were ready. Now, it offers the same comfort to those who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus. This offers those struggling with grief a physical and emotional reminder of their loved ones. Erendida Guerrero is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic by offering these teddy bears for $30 in Ciudad Juarez.
The Gift of Giving
Both Erendida and Teddy Bears Anonymous use the power of a teddy bear to help those facing grief, trauma, or a difficult procedure. Why teddy bears? Transitional objects are incredibly useful in times of hardship; they offer us physical and emotional comfort that is essential to coping with hardship. We offer teddy bears to people all over the world because we believe in the gift of giving. When we give a child a teddy bear to share with someone, they are not only gifted a teddy bear, but they get to experience that warm feeling that you’ve done something for someone else. We truly believe it’s not just about the bear, and as our Founder Joseph Sprung says “to be able to give to someone else is really an empowering feeling.” Like Teddy Bears Anonymous and Enredida, we use teddy bears for their transitional object appeal, but our different missions are what make all our groups unique!