On a super sunny, Sunday September 9th afternoon, PATH (in collaboration with both Kids Cooking For Life and CANDO Clemency Teddy Bear Program) presented an engaging and charming ‘Teddy Bear Tea Party’ fundraising event. The event fell on none other than National Teddy Bear Day and was hosted by the Corte Madera Book Passage. Young children (accompanied by their parents), came out for lots of eats and treats and fun hands-on activities. A festive and colorful polka dot balloon bouquet was donated by Balloons by Design. And, each child who attended the event received a goody bag which comprised of a teddy bear “EAT THE RAINBOW” (copyrighted 2018) coloring book package (created especially for this occasion) complete with crayons, teddy stickers, temporary teddy tattoos; teddy bubble wands, a Yumm Earth lollipop and a grain free snack bar.
One of the main attractions at this event was face painting services by Budderball the Clown. Budderball did an amazing job!
After ice cream was served, the little ones marched to the teddy bear beat led by Book Passage storyteller, Clare Doornbos for teddy tales.
A teddy themed gift basket was raffled off and featured a very special book by internationally renowned, artist/photographer, William Wegman. On my personal request, Mr. Wegman donated his book – BEING HUMAN. Mr. Wegman not only signed, but also created a super sweet, original teddy and dog friend drawing on the inside page.
The main purpose of this event was to raise funds to (1) purchase brand new teddy bears (and other cuddly stuffed animals) to hand out to children of incarcerated parents at the end of this year and future seasonal holidays and, (2) help benefit Kids Cooking For Life non-profit in Marin County, CA.
I’d like to personally thank everyone who helped me put this event together…who donated their time and services to make it a special and rewarding event.
If you wish to make a donation to PATH so we can continue this program, please feel free to do so HERE.
Thank you and God bless!
Leslie Lakes, Director/Founder
Note: Artwork for EAT THE RAINBOW coloring book by professional artist Jose Velasquez (Austin, TX)