Alpha Xi Delta kicked off its 5th annual teddy bear drive during the ETSU basketball game against Garner-Webb on Saturday, Feb. 11.
“We do this because our (the sorority’s) national mascot ID is the teddy bear and our national philanthropy is choose children,” said Lindsey Tippens, vice president of public relations for the sorority.
The stuffed animals collected at this drive will be distributed to many organizations in the area including, The Johnson City Police and Fire Departments, the Johnson City Children’s Hospital and the Department of Public Safety.
“These toys will go to children who have been in a wreck or other traumatic incidents,” said Tippens. “It will help to comfort them.”
Tippens said she feels that this drive has been more successful than those in the past. The goal for this year’s drive was 1,000 bears.
The sorority collected around 700 bears on the first night of the drive. “We only need about 300 more,” Tippens said.
This was not the only success for the teddy bear drive. “We have always wanted to get the community more involved,” she said. “This year it wasn’t just the students that donated bears. Almost 90 percent of the donations came from the community.”
Members from the community are also making larger donations. “A guy from Citibank called us,” Tippens said. “He has about 100 bears he wants to donate and a lady at the game donated 200 bears.”
One reason for the success of this year’s drive may be the added publicity. “We have got more publicity this year,” Tippens said. “We were on the news almost every night for a week. The Johnson City Press called us. My phone has been ringing off the hook. We were even on the Christian radio station, KYLT-FM, during the morning talk show.”
The athletics department also helped to gather publicity for the drive. “We had it in the basketball script for the drive since January,” said Kevin Bostian, marketing coordinator for the athletics department. “We also put it on the marquee signs outside the Mini-Dome. About 30,000 cars drive by those signs each day.”
Alpha Xi Delta also distributed fliers at the Thursday night game so that the attendees would know about the drive on Saturday night. “We really did all we could to get the word out,” Bostian said.
The chance for students to donate is not over. Alpha Xi Delta will be placing additional drop-off boxes in many locations. “There will be a box at Kohl’s,” Tippens said. “There are six extra boxes that the girls will put wherever they think they can get some bears.”
The teddy bear drive is not the only project that Alpha Xi Delta is working on. “We have been collecting money for the Mountain States Health Alliance to help them build a new children’s hospital,” Tippens said. “We sold Teddy Grams, a valentine, for a week and are still taking donations.”
“We would like to thank the people who donated bears and the athletic department,” said Tippens, “They were a big help.”
Bostian said, “We’re doing things for charities all through the year and this one is especially good because it helps the children in the Johnson City area.”
Anyone interested in donating to the drive or tthe Mountain States Health Alliance can contact Lindsey Tippens at 715-0924.
“The donations do not have to be bears,” Tippens said. “We just say that. They can be anything as long as they are new or like new and in good condition.

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