Each year we send out thousands of teddy bears and fun teddy-themed activities to spread a little sunshine in children’s hospitals across the UK.
Celebrate your fluffy friends on 9th September with Rays of Sunshine.
Thank you to our sponsor Howden and to our friends at TeddyTastic for your support
Teddy bears are often some of our earliest and most long-lasting companions, and the annual National Teddy Bear Day celebration is dedicated to showing off how much we love them.
Time spent in hospital can be tough for everyone, but it can feel especially scary and lonely for children. We believe in the power of play and positive distraction to help create precious memories and combat isolation. Even something as simple as a teddy bear can help.
What was your teddy called?
This National Teddy Bear Day, we've created a Teddy Bear Hall of Fame — pick a bear, give them their name back, and share your memory. It takes two minutes.
Then, if you can, add £10 to help us put a bear in the arms of a child in hospital this year.
For a child facing serious illness, a teddy bear can become more than a toy. It's comfort, company, something familiar to hold onto on the hardest days.
£10 sponsors a bear and helps bring that comfort to a child in hospital.
A bear-y big thank you to volunteers from our partners at Savills, Salesforce, F.W. Smith, Riches & Co., Clermont Hotel Group, HFMC Wealth and Howden for making this year's National Teddy Bear Day possible.
Our brilliant volunteers logged 525 hours of packing our Teddy Tastic bear kits and writing thoughtful messages for the children and families who'll receive them in hospital.
There are lots of ways to get involved in National Teddy Bear Day! Thanks to our kind sponsor Howden, we’ve got all the "bear necessities" you need with activity ideas and resources so that you can celebrate in your own way.
Find out more and download the resources below!
Kick off the festivities by hosting an interactive bear hunt – role-play the journey of characters in bear-themed books using sensory play. Our sensory scavenger hunt checklist has some great suggestions for things to find for this activity!
You can use arts and crafts to create your very own teddy – our origami templates will help children design their new friends. They can share their homemade bears in school or on a hospital ward!
This game involves hiding teddies, either real or paper drawings, for children to find. Adults can offer seekers a treasure map with hints or clues to guide their search. A real-life bear hunt!
Create a teddy bear paradise by decorating spaces with our colourful bunting and teddy mask guides. Or if you’re feeling creative, you can set up a teddy bear crafting session where children can create their own pictures and banners to teddy-fy a room!
This event has it all – active fun with your fluffy companions! To host this activity you could use a teddy as a relay baton while moving to a target and back or design an obstacle course for children to guide their teddies through.
To end your day of fun give a teddy bear a moment to shine by throwing them a parade. Dress the teddies up, make floats out of toy cars and have a ball with the children and their cuddly toys!
This National Teddy Bear Day bring comfort to a child in hospital.
