A fuzzy tradition lives on at Brewster Academy

WOLFEBORO — For the fifth year in a row, the Brewster Academy community collected more than 300 plush toys to benefit the Wolfeboro Police Department's annual Christmas fund.

Brewster’s Head Athletic Trainer and Community Living Parent Kirsty Ridings organizes the drive with the students in her dorm, Harris House.

“As a native of Wolfeboro and graduate of Kingswood High School, the greater Wolfeboro community is important to me,” Ridings said. “I’m aware of how many in our local area struggle to make ends meet and to provide the basics for their families each day, let alone finding ways to make Christmas special for the youngest and most vulnerable members of our community.”

The soft toys are usually part of Brewster’s annual Teddy Bear Toss, when students, faculty, staff, and fans shower the donated animals onto the hardwood at the first time-out of a Brewster prep basketball game.

This year, snowfall and dicey driving conditions forced Brewster to cancel the prep game that was scheduled for the Toss this year; but, while the Toss itself did not happen, Ridings and her students collected an impressive 301 teddy bears and donated them to the Wolfeboro Police Department.

“It’s extremely helpful,” Dispatch Supervisor Mia Lyons said about Brewster’s contribution. “Usually, every child will get two to three stuffed animals from the Christmas fund. Also, we give the extra toys to the cruisers, and we give them out to kids who maybe got hurt in a car accident, from a fire, or Mom and Dad are fighting, and they need a toy to distract the child. Every cruiser gets a bag of stuffed animals from the Brewster Teddy Bear Toss.”

Wolfeboro’s Police Department has been holding its Christmas fund and toy drive for more than 30 years, helping around 70 children each year.

Ridings notes that the Teddy Bear Toss is much more than a collection of toys. It is a community-building activity, and is another opportunity for students to participate in “service above self” and prepare for lives of purpose.

“As a community we are so fortunate to have each other,” she said. “We are lucky enough to always know where our next meal is coming from, knowing that we will be warm this winter and will have quality care if we get sick or hurt. So many families live paycheck-to-paycheck and struggle to make this time of year special for their own children. It's important that we continue to help these parents at Christmastime and keep the spirit of giving and the joy of Christmas alive for the little ones in our community who need to feel it the most.”