BEAR friends! Are you ready for this?! We are SO excited to share with you that this holiday season, we served over 23,044 children during our BEARing Gifts program, and this was all made possible because of Y-O-U! Thanks to individual donors, volunteers, and community partners, we were able to provide holiday cheer to thousands of children! Whether you donated 100 toys or 1 toy, it all truly makes a difference! You made a child smile during the holiday season, and for that, we cannot thank you enough!
BEARing Gifts, BEAR’s holiday program provides brand-new holiday gifts to at-risk and CPS-involved children who may otherwise not experience the joy of the holiday season. There are FIVE different ways to get involved – sponsor a child/children, host a toy drive, donate monetarily, shop our Amazon wishlist, or volunteer.
Program Sponsors
This year’s program is possible thanks to our Holiday Heroes, who are making a tremendous impact on the children we serve through their selfless participation!
Get Involved each Holiday Season!
Donate
If you would like to donate monetarily to the overall program, simply click here or the graphic above to get started, and designate ‘BEARing Gifts’ as your program of choice. IMPORTANT: if you donate in-kind items to BEAR, please make sure to complete an In-Kind Gift Form.
Sponsor a Child
*No longer available – check back next year!*
One way to get involved in BEARing Gifts this year is by Sponsoring a Child or Children. Children’s information is solely available to those that submit sponsorship requests. Upon submitting your digital request for one or more kiddos, you will receive an email with details of each specific child and their wish list. Please make sure to provide at least one gift from that child’s wish list or any age-appropriate gift. {If you want to give more you are welcome to do so.}
All gifts for sponsored children must be dropped off at BEAR’s HQ or at a participating location before Monday, December 12th! Learn how to properly “wrap” a gift by clicking here!
Shop on Amazon!
Interested in contributing to this year’s program in a different way? Consider shopping on BEAR’s personalized Amazon Wishlist (list available October 1st – January 1st). When you buy from this list, items arrive directly at our office, where they will be immediately distributed in our warehouse for BEARing Gifts. Please be sure to include your name and address so we can acknowledge your donation accordingly!
Host a Toy Drive
Host a Toy DriveProvide holiday cheer to children by hosting a holiday toy drive and delivering them to BEAR’s HQ/ Warehouse (3572 E TC Jester Blvd, Houston, TX 77018) by Saturday, December 17th. Please keep in mind, the earlier the drop-off date the easier it is to fill children’s wishes before Christmas day.
For ideas on popular gifts per age range please click here –> BEARing Gifts Toy Suggestions. Please remember that all gifts must be new and unwrapped. If you have any questions about hosting a toy drive, please contact Outreach and Heart Gallery Manager, Merri Hahn.
*Bikes = we prefer them to not be assembled, but we are more than happy to accept them any way we can get them!
*IMPORTANT: if you donate to BEAR, please make sure to complete an In-Kind Gift Form so we can properly thank you!
Additional Drop Off Locations & Extended Hours
Our incredible partners at KSBJ have arranged drop-off events at various Chick-fil-A locations throughout the Greater Houston area! Please visit KSBJ’s Christmas website to learn more about drop-off information or click here to see a list of locations. Also, thanks to our very generous partners at Tide Cleaners, you are welcome to drop off new toys, or even sponsored gifts at 35 convenient Greater Houston locations! Visit Tide Cleaners or check this document to see locations and hours of operation. BEAR is also proud to announce our NEWEST partner this year ~Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center! To find your nearest location, please visit the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center website by clicking here!
Volunteer
This year, BEARing Gifts volunteer opportunities will run Monday, November 28th – Saturday, December 17th. To get started, CLICK HERE to create a volunteer account and see ALL of the off-site and on-site volunteer opportunities that YOU can be a part of! There are numerous fun-filled opportunities for individuals, families, and companies alike! Please note, all opportunities have a set number of volunteers. If you see a time slot that is filled check out another day and time to join in the fun! Thank you for helping us make the holidays a little brighter for countless children!
Please pay close attention when signing up as some opportunities are at partnering agency locations. Filling these volunteer positions are just as vital as our on-site opportunities at BEAR’s HQ. Together we are able to provide the at-risk and CPS-involved children in our community a happy holiday season!
For any questions regarding volunteer opportunities, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Alexis Evans at Alexis.Evans@harriscountytx.gov
