EVERETT — As if out of a child’s dream, thousands of teddy bears will rain onto the ice from the stands of the Everett Events Center arena during tonight’s Silvertips hockey game.
Those bears will find their way into the hands of children from throughout Snohomish County who are sick, emotionally distraught or poor.
The teddy bear toss is new to Everett but is nearly a decade old in the Western Hockey League.
When the Silvertips score their first goal against the Seattle Thunderbirds, fans will throw more than 8,000 stuffed animals onto the arena floor, said Zoran Rajcic, director of sales and marketing for the Silvertips.
If the Silvertips don’t score, the toss will be at the end of the game.
Most of the bears will end up at Christmas House, the Everett charity that provides gifts to children of low-income families each holiday season. Last year, Christmas House almost ran out of stuffed animals, and the teddy bear toss will ensure that each child who wants a stuffed animal will get one, said Mark Nysether, a fund-raiser and volunteer for Christmas House.
Bears also will be distributed to police and fire departments to comfort kids who are victims of accidents or fires, and to children at Providence Everett Medical Center, Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, Valley General Hospital in Monroe and Stevens Hospital in Edmonds.
On Monday, about a dozen Silvertips players will hand out stuffed animals to kids at the four hospitals, Rajcic said.
Providence is giving the bears to children who are patients and to those who are in the hospital visiting family members, said Cheri Russum, a hospital spokeswoman.
"It’s a very stressful time for them," she said, "and the teddy bears can bring a measure of comfort. And sometimes it’s a bit of a distraction for them."
The Silvertips, the Everett Firefighters Association, Judd &Black, E&E Lumber and Home Center in Marysville, and K&H Printers in Everett are donating 8,000 teddy bears. The Silvertips also are asking fans to bring teddy bears to the game.
Hockey teams from Dallas to Regina, Saskatchewan, hold teddy-bear tosses each year.
"It gives back so much to the community, and it’s a way for players to be involved with kids," said Leroy McKinnon, a Western Hockey League spokesman.
Reporter David Olson: 425-339-3452 or dolson@heraldnet.com.
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