You can help comfort a child or the elderly this holiday season through BC Liquor Stores’ annual Share-a-Bear campaign.

At all 197 locations throughout the province, customers can buy two teddy bears for $12.50. One teddy bear the customer takes home, while the other is donated to a local charity.

BC Liquor Store employees choose the charities to support in their respective communities. This year’s charities include police victim services that work with child-abuse victims, non-profit agencies that assist immigrants or new mothers, and care homes for the elderly.

“The annual Share-a-Bear campaign has been bringing joy to children and the elderly for more than two decades,” said Blain Lawson, general manager and CEO of the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB). “Our employees look forward to this program every year for an opportunity to give back to the community and I am confident this year’s bear design will be very popular.”

The 2017 bears come in brown and white and are wearing scarves adorned with the Canada 150 maple leaf. Customers can purchase the bears at the checkout and enter a draw to win larger versions of this year’s Share-a-Bear.

Quick Facts:

• The Liquor Distribution Branch’s annual Share-a-Bear campaign started in 1989.
• Almost 650,000 stuffed bears have been given away to charities throughout the province since the beginning of the program.
• The campaign runs from mid-November to the end of December.
• 25,000 bears have been distributed to 197 BC Liquor Stores for this year’s campaign.
• The top three BC Liquor Stores that sold the most stuffed bears last year were in Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Prince George.
• The Share-a-Bear campaign demonstrates the LDB’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and to being a good corporate citizen in the communities where it does business.

Learn More:

LDB Corporate Social Responsibility:
http://www.bcldb.com/corporate-social-responsibility/community-fundraising/share-bear