I am Sylvia Stark Founder of The
Teddy Bears of Hope Campaign.
The Teddy Bears of Hope, is a
campaign of Love and Hope from Children of Canada to
Children in other parts of the world. Children who are
lonely, underprivileged and caught in a web of poverty
and despair due to no fault of their own. Every child
deserves to smile and dream, with no regards given to
their race, color, religion or circumstance.
In 2004 the disastrous tsunami hit
parts of Asia. Leaving many people without homes and
many children without Parents and complete families
.Millions of dollars were being collected around the
world for disaster relief. But in these countries
children know no value to a dollar. I wanted to fill
that emotional void that was not being filled “ Thus the
Teddy Bears of Hope was born”. We collected over 20,000
teddy bears from Canadian Children. In the summer of
2005, Miss Teen Canada Int’l Amanda Klyn and I
personally delivered those teddy bears to children
living in children’s villages and orphanages. With the
Assistance of the Government of Thailand and Habitat for
Humanity Organization this was, a very rewarding and
over whelming experience for both of us!
Because of the success of this
program, since that time we have delivered teddy bears
to children in Cambodia, Guatemala, Sri Lanka and the
Philippines. We now have many countries waiting for us
to bring the program to them.
In 2008 we have chosen Afghanistan
Children to deliver Teddy Bears to.
Our Canadian Forces are there
because they want to help & make a positive difference
in those people’s lives; they are bridge builders, peace
keepers and so much more. We are now working with The
Canadian Forces and The Ambassador of Afghanistan to
make this campaign possible.
We are collecting over 60,000 teddy
bears from Canadian Children to deliver to the forgotten
children of Afghanistan in summer 2008. Afghanistan is a
country which has been at war for over 25 years, where
violence has become common place. But there are families
with children there just like yours and mine.
We need collection points across
Canada, transportation across Canada and transportation
to Afghanistan. If you would like to bring a smile to a
child’s face and make a difference to a child on the
other side of the world, please become involved with our
campaign. We need you! We can make a difference One
Teddy Bear at A Time!
2009 Teddy Bears of Hope Campaign has just announced
the Bears will be going to Uganda
Below are some photos of Amanda & Sylvia delivering
teddy bears in Thailand. Click to enlarge.
