Get ready to pack a picnic and your beloved teddy bears

Teddy Bears’ Picnic by Children’s Hospital Foundation returns to Assiniboine Park on Sunday, September 8, 2024

Winnipeg, MB (September 26, 2023) – Dr. Goodbear, Manitoba’s mascot for hope and healing, is inviting families to save the date for a beloved community celebration! Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba is bringing back Teddy Bears’ Picnic after a “paws” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was followed by high-volume pediatric RSV seasons. Mark your calendars – the 35^th Teddy Bears’ Picnic will take place on Sunday, September 8, 2024 at Assiniboine Park.

Teddy Bears’ Picnic is a Winnipeg tradition started by a group of dedicated volunteers more than 35 years ago. The event will feature activity tents, including the Dr. Goodbear Clinic put on by frontline staff from HSC Children’s Hospital, where kids’ teddy bears are triaged and go through a variety of medical tests and treatments including MRIs, X-rays, casting; and the I Want to be a Scientist tent put on by Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM) that encourages imagination in fun science-based activities and showcases how they can be used in medical settings.

Children’s Hospital Foundation is currently looking for community sponsors to jump in with support to help make this event the very best for families.

“The Teddy Bears’ Picnic has a rich history in our community as an important and fun family event to help kids feel safe in a hospital setting,” says Stefano Grande, President & CEO, Children’s Hospital Foundation. “We’re thrilled and thankful to all the dedicated volunteers, sponsors and supporters who are helping bring Teddy Bears’ Picnic back to Assiniboine Park in 2024. We look forward to hearing from community organizations who will help ensure the event is ready for all the teddy bears and families who will attend.”

The goal of Teddy Bears’ Picnic is to deliver a fun day for families, while also providing kids with a developmentally appropriate understanding of what may occur in a hospital or research environment so they may feel comfortable when in health care settings.

Since its inception, Teddy Bears’ Picnic has welcomed over 1 million children, their bears and families. For 33 years, until the worldwide pandemic, the Picnic happened every single year. COVID-19 prompted health restrictions and the staff vital to running the event, like health care teams at HSC Children’s Hospital, were needed to attend to urgent needs in the hospital and community. In 2020 Foundation staff hosted a virtual picnic. Now, the Foundation is ready to welcome the in-person return of this fun and exciting family event at Assiniboine Park.

Teddy Bears’ Picnic relies sponsors to support all aspects of the event, and hundreds of volunteers including frontline health care providers and health researchers who operate the Dr. Goodbear Clinic and the I Want to be a Scientist tents. The Foundation is deeply grateful to these dedicated supporters who are integral to the Picnic and to our community as a whole.

“Teddy Bears’ Picnic is a special part of our community, and I am so grateful we’re able to bring it back for all the families who have come to love it and all those who will experience it for the first time in 2024,” says Scott McDonald, Teddy Bears’ Picnic advisory circle and past committee chair. “I am blessed to have met and worked alongside all the wonderful committee members, Foundation staff and dedicated sponsors and I look forward to doing so again as we put together next year’s event.”

To become a sponsor at Teddy Bears Picnic email Angela at acarcon@goodbear.ca or visit goodbear.ca/TeddyBearsPicnic to learn more.

More details on the Teddy Bears’ Picnic by Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba will be made available in coming months at goodbear.ca.

#GiveBetterFutures with Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba

You can change a sick child’s life through the current $75 million Better Futures campaign. History-making changes in child health will ensure sick kids get the care they need in places of comfort and healing, in environments that physically and technologically match the excellence provided by healthcare professionals today. They’ll benefit from leading-edge research focused specifically on the unique needs of kids in our communities. Manitoba’s largest-ever fundraising campaign for child health NEEDS YOU to help #GiveBetterFutures to sick and injured kids. Because your present can change their future.

Since 1971, with incredible donor support, the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba has raised more than $165 million to help sick and injured children from Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, and Nunavut. The Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that every child treated at HSC Children’s Hospital has the best care experience possible and benefits from the leading-edge research at Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba. Learn about your impact at goodbear.ca.