More than 23,000 Share-a-Bears were donated to local charities and made their way to needy families over the holiday season, thanks to the generosity of BC Liquor Store customers throughout the province. The total surpassed the 2017 campaign by over 1,000 toy bears.
BC Liquor Stores support the communities they serve through the annual Share-a-Bear campaign. Every year, customers purchase stuffed bears to take home. The bear’s twin is donated to a local charity, hospital or shelter. BC Liquor Stores employees select the recipient agencies, and the donated bears are distributed in time for the holidays.
The stores that sold the most bears in the 2018 holiday season were:
1. Dawson Creek: 1,961 bears
2. Fort St. John: 1,841 bears
3. Prince George Pine Centre: 1,230 bears
“There is a friendly competition amongst employees around the province to see which store can sell and donate the most bears,” said Michael Procopio, executive director for liquor retail services, noting that the same three stores finished in the same order the previous year.
“All our employees are proud to support local charities and bring joy to those in need during the holiday season through the Share-a-Bear program, and we’re happy to see that the initiative gets more popular each year,” Procopio said.
Since the program began in 1989, approximately 672,000 bears have been donated to charities, shelters and hospitals.