This year will mark the 21st anniversary of the Fairfield University Student Alumni Association’s Teddy Bears with Love drive. Members of the Fairfield University community are encouraged from now until Friday, December 6 to donate a new, unused teddy bear or stuffed animal to this year’s drive. The 2019 goal is to collect 1,100 teddy bears or stuffed animals by Dec. 6th.

If Fairfield meets the goal, the University will break the 25,000 all-time collection/donation mark. This effort has spanned across the country thanks to alumni hosting collections in their places of business, and through Fairfield’s regional chapter collection events and holiday drives held across the country throughout the month of December.

Since 1999, thousands of alumni, parents, students, faculty/staff, and friends of Fairfield have generously donated more than 23,000 teddy bears and stuffed animals to dozens of children’s hospitals and charities throughout the country. The drive was established by the Office of Alumni Relations and Student Alumni Association (SAA) in the hopes of providing children in the world with a “bear hug.”

The efforts of the Teddy Bears with Love drive team have allowed for holiday spirit and delight to be shared at charities throughout the nation. The Boston Children’s Hospital, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, and Hour Children in Manhattan are just some of the many organizations that the Teddy Bears team has partnered with.

Receiving the Council for Advancement & Support of Education’s Affiliated Student Advancement Programs District 1 Award in 2008 for “Outstanding External Program” and its 2011 “Outstanding Tried & True Program,” the drive’s continued recognition is a sign that more and more people want to bring smiles and love to those in need during the holiday season. The program also received a 2014 Yale New Haven Hospital Auxiliary “Toy Closet Award” for consistent support of the Toy Closet Program.

“The holiday season is a great time to give back to the community,” explained Chloe Stokinger ’22, SAA director of community service. “These children are resilient fighters and these bears are a symbol of love that they are not in this fight alone. We hope the bears give patients comfort and remind them of home while they get the treatment and care they need. Our goal is to show that the Fairfield community supports these children and their families by sending all our love and strength during the holidays. Hard times don’t last, but strong people do!”

To participate in the Teddy Bears with Love drive, please donate a new, unused teddy bear or stuffed animal (all donations must have original tags) to a local chapter, or directly to the Office of Alumni Relations. We regret we cannot accept any gently used donations; however, we can provide alternate locations for these types of donations upon request. Chapter event details are updated consistently online. For more information on how to donate, host a drive, or for regional event details, please email fairfieldteddybears@gmail.com or visit fairfield.edu/teddybears.