SWEET CUDDLY MAYHEM: Fans set to throw thousands of teddy bears onto the ice for charity during Sunday’s Hershey Bears hockey game
(Hershey, PA – January 1, 2026) – Ring in the New Year and start 2026 with the heartwarming event that sees thousands upon thousands of teddy bears and stuffed animals flying through the air at a hockey game in an incredible act of generosity and kindness. Furry and fuzzy stuffies of all kinds will rain down onto the ice at GIANT Center during the Hershey Bears hockey game this Sunday, January 4 to benefit local and regional charities and children in need.
Teddy Bear Tosses are well-known promotional events for minor league hockey teams, but there is no Teddy Bear Toss like the Hershey Bears GIANT Teddy Bear Toss, set to take place this Sunday afternoon as the Bears host the Rockford IceHogs with a 3 p.m. ET puck drop. The Bears are the hockey WORLD RECORD holders for the Teddy Bear Toss, collecting a staggering 102,343 stuffed animals at last year’s event.
LINK TO VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE TEDDY BEAR TOSS
(This link above contains archive 2025 Teddy Bear Toss footage, but will be updated to include new footage from Sunday’s event. Video courtesy Great Save Productions/Hershey Bears.)
LINK TO PHOTOS OF THE TEDDY BEAR TOSS
(The link above contains archive 2025 Teddy Bear Toss photos, but will be updated to include new photos from Sunday’s event. Images courtesy Hershey Bears.)
As part of the club’s Hershey Bears Cares initiative, which showcases the philanthropic activities and volunteer efforts of Bears players and staff members throughout the community, teddy bears and stuffed animals are collected and donated to more than 60 local and regional organizations, including Harrisburg School District, Gigi’s Playhouse Lancaster, Bethesda Mission, LaMancha Animal Rescue, Hospice of Central PA, Lancaster County Food Hub, Milton Hershey School, and Elizabethtown Fire Department.
For the past decade, the Sweigart Family Foundation of Lancaster County has made the Teddy Bear Toss even more impactful by donating $1 to Children’s Miracle Network at Golisano Children’s Hospital for every animal thrown on the ice. This year, The GIANT Company is stepping in to honor the late Jeff Sweigart, a devoted Bears fan and longtime season ticket holder, to keep his passion alive. The GIANT Company has pledged a $100,000 donation to the hospital if fans can surpass last year’s total number of collected bears.
Hershey’s annual GIANT Teddy Bear Toss has collected 566,450 teddy bears since its inception in 2001.
