Martha’s Vineyard Teddy Bear Suite organizers announced recently that the holiday fundraiser, celebrating its 11th year, will spread holiday cheer with Teddies Around Town.
For the second year, the bears will be part of Teddies Around Town, a modified version of the Teddy Bear Suite, a fun, safe, and meaningful holiday scavenger hunt with a cause. A number of Edgartown businesses have sponsored bears which can be found by participants in their display windows.
Children will have a sheet with riddles to help them find participating businesses. In the spirit of giving and sharing, at the end of the scavenger hunt, each child will receive their own brand new teddy bear when they finish finding the bears.
Teddies Around Town begins the first weekend of December, Dec. 3 through 5, from 10 am to 2 pm, and will also occur the next two weekends, with added fun the weekend of Christmas In Edgartown. The starting and ending location for Teddies Around Town is the Point B Realty office in Nevin Square at 19 Winter St., Edgartown. There is a suggested donation of $5 per child, all of which goes directly to the Martha’s Vineyard Boys & Girls Club.
Teddy Bear Suite founder and sponsor, Point B Realty, has raised more than $265,000 the club in its first 10 years.
The goal is to raise $50,000 again this year for the Boys & Girls Club and its vital afterschool food program Healthy Happy Kids. H2K provides the club’s elementary school-aged children with free, healthy snacks and meals, and includes prepared meals to take home.
“While the traditional Teddy Bear Suite will not be open in-person for visitors again this year, we are excited to be able to offer Teddies Around Town, as a great family-friendly alternative,” said Wendy Harman, principal broker/owner of Point B, in a press release. “The pandemic has made food insecurity more challenging than ever on the Island, and the need to help our children and their families is greater than ever. Our goal is to raise enough money to fund the entire program again.”
This year, the Edgartown library will also join the fundraising drive by hosting a special Teddy Bear Suite-themed weekend during Christmas in Edgartown. In addition to some of the around town events, much of the money raised each year is online through the Teddy Bear Suite website, which is already up and going and receiving donations.
Donations can be made at Teddies Around Town and online. For more information or to make a donation visit mvteddybearsuite.com.
