"I thought of you last night...it took me 3 and 1/2 hours to get home during the ice storm with the Severn River Bridge closed down. I worked an extra shift Tuesday to just

help out...well...I stopped dead near the Mall/Parole exit for 3 hours!!! Two cars behind me, a mom and her 2 little girls, slid on the ice. Their vehicle went under a truck.

Mom was pinned in and had injuries, one little girl had an asthma attack, they both were crying desperately. Well, I called EMS 3 times and it took 45 minutes to get 2

ambulances driving in the wrong direction on the shoulder to get to us. At one point I was on the phone with EMS and telling them I felt like the lone ranger out there and

needed help. Then you came to my mind and I realized I had 2 teddy bears in the car...a flash of you with Hugs Across America...I nearly hung up on EMS but not till I told

them...get me help out here...all I have are 2 blankets, a first aid kit, found an inhaler for the child having an asthma attack, and, oh yes, 2 teddy bears....I ran to the car

under the truck and gave those 2 little girls the bears...they smiled bigger than life and tears abated! ... they were still clinging to those teddies when they went into the

ambulance!

 

Please Sue, know that your bears are touching lives out here.

 

 "After this experience, I will never be without bears again. "

(from a nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland)

Hugs Across America--The Kelsey Briggs Chapter
Founded in memory of Kelsey Briggs, the chapter is the first and only of it’s kind in Oklahoma.  
Teddy bears are collected, tagged and donated to children living in crisis.  

Teddy bears have been given to OU Children's hospital, children's shelters, children in foster care and tornado
and hurricane victims.  

Our collected teddy bears must meet the following criteria:

  • NEW

  • PLAIN  (suitable for any age, boy or girl, free from seasonal decoration so they can be given year-round)

  • 10”-14” in size (the perfect huggable size!)

                   For more information or to make a donation to the Kelsey Briggs chapter of Hugs Across America, please contact

Jamie or Loretha.

 Do you live in the Oklahoma City metro area?  Do you have an hour to spare?  We are currently in need of assistance in

preparing our teddy bears so we will have them ready in case of an urgent need.   If you have some time to donate for a

good cause, please contact us today!


 Teddy bears may also be donated at:

*Special thanks to the above businesses for partnering with us to make a difference in the lives of children living in crisis!
 

 

Special Thanks to our National Hugs Director, Sue Lucarelli

"I'll send the next group of 50 bears each to the Suffolk County and Westchester County Court Houses

in Kelsey's name.  All of the bears go to children witnessing in child abuse cases or in the court system.

Again, thanks for your great work."
Sue Lucarelli

 

 

 

         

 

Special Thanks to

Howard Grogan of Ashland, Oklahoma

for his generous donation of 40 Teddy Bears and 112 stuffed puppy dogs!

 

Additional Thanks to

Wal-Mart of McAlester, Oklahoma

for their generous donation of 113 stuffed puppy dogs!

 

 

    

                                                   The Honorable Judge Layden                               Joy Alexander, Bailiff             

                                                    Pittsburg County, Oklahoma                          Pittsburg County, Oklahoma

 

Children who attend court in

Pittsburg County, Oklahoma

will receive a teddy bear or stuffed puppy from the

Kelsey Briggs Chapter of Hugs Across America.

 

 

 

Special Thanks to the

Tinker Youth Center

for hosting a teddy bear drive in January 2009. 

 The youth center collected 142 teddy bears.

Click here for photos from the Tinker Youth Center Teddy Bear Drive.

Photos also appear on our chapter's page on the Hugs Across America national website here.

 

 

 

On September 22nd, 2008 260 teddy bears from the

Kelsey Briggs Chapter of Hugs Across America

were delivered to children affected by Hurricane Ike along the Texas coastline.
Photos will be posted soon!



 

 



  Kelsey's page on the National Hugs Across America website


Hugs Across America is a 501c3 nonprofit charity.