It’s the time of the year when Teddy Bear Toss games are all over the US. Hockey teams of all sizes are holding such events to help out their communities.
In total thousands of teddy bears and stuffed animals are being donated. They will all find new homes and bring smiles to kids in need throughout 2019.
Last weekend the Utica College hockey game against Chatham University gathered more than 4000 stuffed animals. “Typically the goal is scored during the first period and is always a relief to get the goal out of the way, but this year, they had a little bit of a slow start but they came out in the second period and scored the goal and the game really turned at that point,” New York Sash owner Scot Hayes said to the Utica Observer-Dispatch. “They ended up winning 5-0. It was awesome”.
After spending the week proudly displayed, now the stuffed animals will be shipped to the charity organizations. Among them are Operation Sunshine, Marine Corps Toys for Tots, First News with Keeler in the Morning and WIBX, Spectrum and Utica Mack, Hayes said. “We couldn’t do it without their partnership because there are so many teddy bears to handle. I mean, there are about 4,000,” Hayes said with a slight chuckle. “The partnerships that we have with Operation Sunshine, Toys for Tots, it gives us the ability to distribute on a mass scale.”
This weekend the Syracuse Crunch also held their teddy bear toss. It was at the game against Rochester at the War Memorial. The home team scored in the first and this unleashed the teddy bears and stuffed animals.
Fans at the game donated a total of 4,283 stuffed animals. The toys will go to the Salvation Army and distributed to kids in need.
And there are plenty of teddy bear toss games continuing to happen this month. So, if you hear about one near you, go and both have fun and help out the community with a teddy bear or two.
