This week, Evansville Thunderbolts players and staff delivered 2,239 stuffed animals from last Saturday’s Teddy Bear Toss to charities around the Tri-State, bringing holiday cheer to children in need.
Deliveries were made to the following locations: YMCA (Downtown Evansville), Borrowed Hearts, Henderson Housing Authority, Riverview School (Henderson), Ark Crisis Child Care Center, Cynthia Heights Elementary School, Albion Fellows Bacon Center, Stockwell Elementary School, Chloe Randolph Organization (Henderson), Pay It Forward Local, Salvation Army, Hope of Evansville, Chemo Buddies, Dream Center, Evansville Rescue Mission, Ronald McDonald House, Wounded Warriors, Riley’s Children’s Hospital (Indianapolis), Isaiah 1:17 Project (Princeton), 911 Gives Hope, and Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
The Teddy Bear Toss is one of the biggest holiday season traditions in hockey, and one of the best ways of giving back to the community. The tradition’s origin is credited to the Kamloops Blazers of the major junior Western Hockey League, who began the Teddy Bear Toss in 1993. Since then, it has become an annual tradition for hockey teams in the junior and minor professional levels around the United States and Canada, and more recently, has been introduced to European leagues and even the Australian league.