Chargers players and local officers from across San Diego County are coming together to deliver thousands of teddy bears to children in need.
Law enforcement will drive through up through San Diego en route to Rady Children’s Hospital Tuesday as part of the 24th annual Law Enforcement Teddy Bear Drive hosted by the San Diego County Sheriff's and Probation Departments.
The annual drive brings together 15 agencies and more than 100 local officers to collect an average of 40,000 bears every year, which helps stock up the hospital's supply for the coming year.
A caravan of approximately 80 motor and police cars will leave the U.S.S. Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum and travel down streets and highways to the hospital. Once they arrive at the Rose Pavilion, officers break into groups and visit patients in various departments to deliver the teddy bears.
The Teddy Bear Drive began back in 1990 when Coronado police Officer Brian Hardy delivered a single car load of teddy bears to the hospital for young patients spending the holidays there.
That year, Hardy gathered 12 teddy bears. More than two decades later, more than one million stuffed animals and teddy bears have been donated through the annual drive.
