Assistance League Provides Comforting Hugs for Over 30 Years

Assistance Leaguers bag 425 teddy bears to kick-start their Bear Hugs Program

Source: Assistance League

Assistance League of Santa Barbara provides comfort to children and adults in severe trauma situations through their Bear Hugs Program. Local agencies are given certified safe, toy teddy bears to comfort children, young adults and others in crisis. 

Since the program’s inception in 1988, over 19,000 teddy bears have been individually bagged and distributed to organizations throughout Santa Barbara County. The Bear Hugs Program is 100% staffed by member volunteers. The committee, headed by Judy Purcell, orders the teddy bears, individually bags them along with a coloring book in English and Spanish, adds a box of crayons, and delivers the packages to the agencies. Each teddy bear wears a t-shirt sporting an Assistance League blue logo. 

Twenty-nine organizations distribute the Bear Hug packages including Santa Barbara City Fire Department, City Police, Juvenile Court, Family Service Agency, Superior Court, Neighborhood Clinics, Sansum Clinic’s Urgent Care and Hitchcock Pediatrics, Marian Regional Medical Center, California Highway Patrol, and Alzheimer’s Association, to name a few.

This year, Assistance League of Santa Barbara will be providing 2,000 huggable bears to people in need in our community. It is truly a gift from the heart.

Assistance League of Santa Barbara distributes 2,000 Teddy Bears to people in need in our community each year.

Learn How You Can Help

To learn more about Bear Hugs, please contact us www.assistanceleaguesb.org

Along with its auxiliaries, Las Aletas and Assisteens, the Assistance League of Santa Barbara’s 350 members volunteer over 50,000 hours a year to improve the lives of residents in our community. The Assistance League Thrift Shop, located at 1259 Veronica Springs Rd., is the major source of funding for these programs