Fleet Feet has the perfect recipe for your post-Thanksgiving weekend: The Teddy Bear Trot offers Tucsonans the opportunity to work off their feasts while supporting Small Business Saturday and helping out a local nonprofit.
Slated to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29 at Fleet Feet, 7301 E. Tanque Verde Rd., the event offers a family-friendly walk or run for all ages at nearby Udall Park to benefit the Children’s Advocacy Center of Southern Arizona.
Go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/teddy-bear-trot-for-kids-registration-1816469291549 to register. There is no registration fee, but donation of a new teddy bear is requested.
“We thought this would be a fun way to spread the word about the Children’s Advocacy Center. We are doing it on Thanksgiving weekend and playing off the Turkey Trot theme with the Teddy Bear Trot to collect teddy bears for kids the center is working with,” said Anne Stancil, owner of Fleet Feet and a board member for the center.
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For more than 25 years, the Children’s Advocacy Center offered a safe, compassionate, healing environment for children who have been a victim or witness to a crime.
Stancil said the Teddy Bear Trot is a partnership with Karhu, a line of running shoes made in Finland that are available exclusively at Feet Feet. Karhu means “bear” in Finnish and Fleet Feet franchises nationwide participate in campaigns to collect teddy bears for local charities.
“We are asking people to bring a plush teddy bear and hopefully folks will feel generous and offer a monetary donation as well, but that is not required. We will be taking donations at the event or people can give a donation online when they register. It all goes directly to the Advocacy Center, which not only benefits families and kids, but is a great resource for the law enforcement community,” Stancil said.
The center offers a wide range of services, including forensic interviews by specially-trained examiners for abuse victims; medical evaluations and exams; mandatory child abuse training reporting; advocacy for family and non-offending family members; and assistance with resources (food, clothing and more) for victims and family members in need. Approximately 1,400 children and their families receive services each year.
“This is a space that serves children and their families who are victims of trauma and abuse. Whether the child has witnessed — or been directly a victim of — abuse, it is a place where all the staff is specially trained and works closely with law enforcement in Southern Arizona,” Stancil said.
“Instead of the child being interviewed in the back of a patrol car or going to a hospital for an exam, they can have their interview — and medical exam if necessary — done on-site in a safe and caring environment.”
Stancil is eager to promote the cause with the upcoming Teddy Bear Trot while also introducing people to the family-friendly products and services — including a free weekly Thursday walk/run in Sabino Canyon—offered by Fleet Feet.
“This is by no means a race. The idea is to get out and get moving and do something healthy and fun with the family, then come back to the store and have hot chocolate and coffee and if you want to do some holiday shopping on Small Business Saturday, that is great,” said Stancil.
She emphasized that patronizing small businesses has a ripple effect in the community.
“Tucson is a great town for supporting local businesses. We are able to support organizations like the Children’s Advocacy Center because people support us and shop with us,” she said.
