 The James Messineo Teddy Bear Run
A special event to benefit the children of the Sacramento Children's Receiving Home.
Click
here to see photos of the 2011 Teddy Bear Run
This event was started by our departed Grand Pooba: Jim Messineo. And we continue this cause in his name.
Every year the Club
gathers together to bring some joy into the lives of the children
of the Sacramento Children's Receiving Home. For those of you who don't know what the Home
is, simply said, they "receive" children who are removed
from their homes due to abuse. They stay there until
some family (or someone) can be located. This can be as little
as 24 hours, or years. It is a difficult job, and our hearts go
out to those who work there. The unique thing about our support
of the Home is, our TEDDY BEAR RUN gets the children involved,
whereas many of the other events that raise money for the Home,
have no interaction with the children.
It starts out with the collection of donations from Club members
(a special thanks to the Sac MG Club for their support). Then,
the Christmas in October shopping tour begins. A group of members collect various
items we hope the children will enjoy. This ranges from toys to clothes and personal items because the children there range in age from toddlers to teenagers.
On the day of the event, club members gather at an assembly
point near the Home and caravan to the Home along with the truck filled with items. The staff brings
out the children, Acorns first (that's the 4-6 years olds) all
the way up to the Oaks (14-17). There are about 100 children
at the home. Standing there and seeing these children
looking through these simple items, you feel totally lost. Each
child has a story, and none are good. The smiles and laughter,
even for the moment are worth the time and effort. The look
on a young child's face when they discover they can have choice
of any item there makes your life's problems suddenly seem so
petty. Even the older children, those teenagers trying hard
to be "cool" seem to be touched by our efforts. Also,
not to be forgotten, allowing them to get into our LBC's, beeping
horns and "driving" them in their imaginary world
brought smiles all around.
This event happens because of the hard work of a dedicated group of volunteers. Funds are raised throughout the year to support this effort. Please help us by contributing what you can to this very worthy cause!
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