our mission
To spread the feeling of community throughout the world by providing support to those in need.
our history
In
1995, an unknown person sent a bear to Oklahoma City after the bombing
of the federal building. One year later, the bear was passed along to
Montoursville, Pennsylvania after 21 students and chaperones were killed
in the crash of TWA Flight 800. It was there that Erika Grotto first saw him. She never forgot him and always hoped the people of Montoursville would send him along someday to someone else who needed his love.
In 2014, Erika set out to find the bear and learned that he had traveled a few places since his time in Montoursville. Her story caught the eye of a reporter in Oklahoma City, who joined Erika in her quest to learn where the bear had gone, and where he had come from. As the story grew, so did the number of people saying, "I want a bear. I need comfort." And so The Traveling Bear Society was formed.
So what happened to that original bear sent from Oklahoma City so long ago? We may never find out. But with your support, we can make sure his mission is never forgotten.
In 2014, Erika set out to find the bear and learned that he had traveled a few places since his time in Montoursville. Her story caught the eye of a reporter in Oklahoma City, who joined Erika in her quest to learn where the bear had gone, and where he had come from. As the story grew, so did the number of people saying, "I want a bear. I need comfort." And so The Traveling Bear Society was formed.
So what happened to that original bear sent from Oklahoma City so long ago? We may never find out. But with your support, we can make sure his mission is never forgotten.
our process
The Traveling Bear Society will send stuffed bears to people in need of comfort. Recipients may keep the bears as long as they need them but are then asked to pass them along to someone else so they can keep doing their jobs. Each bear will have a name written on its tag, and recipients will be able to email The Traveling Bear Society about the bears' travels. Stories and photos will be featured on the blog section of our website.
our helpers
Would you like to support The Traveling Bear Society in its mission? Write to us via our contact page to learn how to send bears to us. If you'd like to make a financial donation, you can do so securely with PayPal, accessible on our contact page.