Hagerstown teen collects teddy bears for hospitalized children this holiday season

Taylor Putterman knows how comforting a teddy bear can be.

So when a family friend's child was at the Penn State Health Children's Hospital in Hershey, Pa., for cancer treatment around the 2020 holiday season, Taylor came up with the idea of collecting teddy bears to donate to children at regional hospitals.

The friend's daughter had to spend Christmas in the hospital that year "and I wanted to do something," she said.

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Taylor, 12, said she wanted to provide hospitalized children with something comforting.

She's had Ruffy, her teddy bear, since she was a baby and can't sleep without her, Taylor said. Ruffy's neck is almost nonexistent from Taylor holding her in that spot so often when she was 3 or 4 years old.

"She smells pretty bad, but it makes me feel like I'm at home," the Western Heights Middle School seventh-grader said.

The teddy bear distribution got going last holiday season after some regional hospitals accepted bear donations though Taylor and her mom, Leah, still couldn't meet the children due to the pandemic and privacy regulations.

Taylor donated more than 450 teddy bears to Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown; Frederick Memorial Hospital in Frederick County, Md.; Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C.; and Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, Md., Leah Putterman said.

Among the thank-you letters Taylor has received is one from a Children's National official who wrote that her "donations truly impact the overall wellbeing of patients and their caregivers," according to a copy of the letter posted on the donation drive's Facebook page.

This holiday season, the family is hoping to collect more than 600 bears to donate to six hospitals.

Last Wednesday, the family traveled to Hershey to donate 100 stuffed animals.

“We are always grateful for those who help brighten our young patients’ time with us. Thank you, Taylor!” said Ashley Kane, manager of Penn State Health Children’s Hospital's Child Life Program, via email.

People who want to help in the effort can donate teddy bears through the Teddy Bears For Kids' wish list with Amazon, Leah Putterman said. There's also an option on the Amazon wish list page to donate money toward bears. It's a picture of a dog that donors can click on and choose how much they want to donate.

The bears must be new with the tag attached.

Last year, Taylor said, she received two bears that were almost her height — which was probably 4-foot, 10-inches at the time. Those were "kind of too big," she said. Teddy bears that are more easily handled are preferred.

When Taylor began collecting the bears in 2020, she used money from her savings to buy bears she'd randomly find in various stores and box them up for distribution for the next holiday season.

Teddy Bears for Kids' social media presence on Facebook and Instagram has helped increase the number of teddy bears to distribute, they said.

At times, Leah Putterman said, there were so many boxes of bears on their indoor porch that they couldn't open the front door of their home north of Hagerstown.

They often get donations delivered via Amazon, and friends often show up at the front door with a bear, they said.

Because of the way the school holiday break is scheduled this year, and with Christmas falling on a weekend, the Puttermans' goal is to finish distributing the bears to area hospitals by Dec. 28. Last year, all of the bears were delivered before Christmas, Leah Putterman said.

Among the hospitals they are donating bears to is the Inova L.J. Murphy Children's Hospital in Falls Church, Va.

Leah Putterman said the Inova hospital was where her son, Jake, was hospitalized as a newborn for a week because he was "not thriving." The doctors and nurses were phenomenal, so the family wants to make sure they include Inova in their distribution list.

While Taylor started collecting bears while a fourth-grader in 2020, the whole family has become involved in the donation effort, Leah Putterman said.

Leah Putterman said she communicates with the hospitals, Jake helps on delivery days, and her husband, Howie, reaches out to people he knows about bear donations.

Taylor distributes flyers to friends and at her school to raise awareness and donations for the effort.

"Taylor has an amazing heart," Leah Putterman said. "She always makes me speechless on things she wants to accomplish."

Taylor said she's had a "very fortunate life. There's other people ... that are less fortunate."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown teen donates teddy bears to ill kids for holidays