Office of Service-Learning
& Volunteer Programs

West Chester University

Killinger Hall Basement
Room B-19
West Chester, PA 19383
Phone: 610-436-3379

mtripp@wcupa.edu
OFFICE HOURS:
M-TH: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
F: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Mid-August to Mid-May

• Office of Service-Learning & Volunteer Programs
• Bear Fair Home
• What is the Bear Fair?
• Bear Fair Yearly Totals
• Who Benefits from the Bear Fair
• Help Us Collect
• Drop Off Locations
• FAQS
• Participants
• Alumni Participation
• Acknowledgments

Who Benefits From the Bear Fair?

Quotes from Children

"Thank you very much for the stuffed animal that you gave me for Christmas. My stuffed animal is a white, cream color. It is very soft and warm. It is also nice to cuddle up with. Thank you very much!"

"Thank you for the teddy bear. I named her Tiffe. I sleep with her every night. She's tan with a sandy color nose. My teddy bear is now six weeks old. I'm so very thankful."

The Following Agencies Received Bears from the 2010 Bear Fair

• AIDS Care Group • Blue Mountain School • Camp Dreamcatcher • Children with Parents in Prison • Christiana Hospital • Coatesville VA dementia ward •Community Youth and Women's Alliance DuPont Hospital for Children • Family Services of Bucks Co. • Family Services of Chester County Project One • Hope Worldwide  • Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington NJ •Lancaster General Hospital - outreach •Project Hope •St. Christopher’s Hospital

• AIDS Services in Asian Communities • Brandywine Hospital • Chester County Hospital • Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia • Coatesville VA for Children’s Parties •Crozer Chester Medical Center • Elwyn Institute’s Davidson School • Family Services of Delaware Co. • Giving Tree – Wayne Hall • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania • Lancaster General Hospital • Mercy Neighborhood Ministries • Salvation Army •St. Paul’s of West Chester outreach •W.C. Atkinson Center

Thank you quotes from agencies that received teddy bears

"Our Geriatric unit serves the sick, frail elderly patients and when I took my cartful of bears to the floor, a very sick gentleman was whimpering in his room. Our nurse manager immediately took one of the soft bears and placed it in his arms. It comforted and quieted the patient!"

    –Joan Simpson, Crozer Chester Medical Center

" A child barely over a year old needed to be transported immediately by ambulance to Hershey Medical Center.  When she left with her mother, the child was tightly holding one of the teddy bears. Thank you for your teddy bear donations...your gifts brought joy to lots of children who undergo long and painful craniofacial surgeries."

    – Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic

" The bears were a big hit under our Christmas tree and it is really enjoyable to watch the children pick out their bear in our Pediatric Unit!"

    – Hunterdon Medical Center

" Your bears were donated to newborns and their siblings on Christmas Day. We find that on holidays, sometimes the siblings are forgotten in the excitement centered around the newest addition to their family. With your help we were able to make sure no one was forgotten!"

    – Lancaster General Women & Babies Hospital

"It is so commendable that students have given such a tangible gift of comfort for children in need.." 

    – Community Volunteers in Medicine

"On behalf of the Chester County Hospital many thanks to you and your organization for the wonderful donation of teddy bears.  We use the teddy bears in pediatrics, the emergency department, and the outpatient lab.  A soft cuddly teddy bear helps a lot when a child is facing a blood test."  

    – Chester County Hospital

Stories throughout the years of donations:

" Both parents and children light up at the sight of teddy bears. They immediately become a new source of comfort and caring."
    –Jay Boucher, Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic '03.