PSU Event Collects More Than 1,000 Toys For Children's Hospital

Press release from PSU:

Dec. 14, 2022

The Marketing Association of Plymouth State University (MAPS, PSU) hosted its 6th annual Teddy Bear Toss event benefitting patients at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (CHaD). The event took place during the women’s hockey game against the State University of New York (SUNY) Canton, and the men’s hockey game against New England College on Saturday, December 10, at PSU’s Hanaway Ice Rink.

Attendees were encouraged to bring new stuffed animals to the game to be tossed onto the ice when the PSU men and women’s teams scored their first goal. Teddy bears were also available to be purchased at the game, with all proceeds going towards CHaD. During the women’s game, the Panthers struck at 1:36 in the second period, triggering a barrage of stuffed animals from the crowd. Again, during the men’s game, the Panthers struck at 0:51 in the first period resulting in a deluge of plushies. Combined, the donors threw a total of 1,125 stuffed animals onto the rink.

Nine-year-old Connor Nugent of Belmont, New Hampshire, a CHaD ambassador and former patient who was born 90 days premature with many medical concerns, was the Guest of Honor and preformed the ceremonial puck drop. Connor also had the privilege of sitting with the PSU skaters during warmups and standing alongside them during the playing of the national anthem.

“We had another hugely successful Teddy Bear Toss on Saturday, thanks to our many donors and to MAPS, a student organization that seeks to give students applied business experiences by creating and hosting events like the Teddy Bear Toss,” said Professor of Business and Director of Business Faculty Brad Allen. “Students do such a great job of organizing all aspects of the event and really enjoy partnering with the women’s and men’s hockey programs.”

PSU’s Teddy Bear Toss is the largest event of its kind to collect stuffed animals for pediatric patients at CHaD. The previous five events have resulted in the donation of more than 7,800 stuffed animals.

MAPS, an interdisciplinary student group, is a nationally ranked chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA). The group operates an embroidery shop and created a custom Teddy Bear Toss logo that they embroidered onto hats, jackets and other items that were sold at the hockey game and will be donated to CHaD families.

For more information about Plymouth State University, visit www.plymouth.edu.

This press release was produced by PSU. The views expressed here are the author's own.