Group provides teddy bears for Winchester House residents

Pink! Orange! Blue! White!

Residents of Winchester House in Libertyville shouted out colors of plush teddy bears passed out by volunteers of Bear Magic in Lake County.

Smooth jazz played in the background and residents were served refreshments and corn puffs Friday as they hugged, bounced and twirled their new teddy bears.

"The bears are so darling and so soft," said Winnie Anderson, a resident of the county-run nursing home. "It's just super what they are doing today."

Bear Magic, chartered by Good Bears of the World, has passed out more than 2,250 teddy bears to Winchester House residents over the past nine years. The group is dedicated to using the bears to help provide love and comfort to traumatized children and forgotten elderly. Some 250 teddy bears were given out Friday.

"Everybody in the building will receive a teddy bear, even if they can't make it off their floor," said Doreen Lagoni, president of Bear Magic. "With the costs of the bears, it's turned out to be around a $600 party."

The nonprofit organization has passed out approximately 50,000 teddy bears in Lake County and through deliveries to 15 countries, including South Africa, India, Cambodia and Haiti.

"Every year the residents here at Winchester House look forward to the event," said Quimby Wysokinski, the administrative director at Winchester House. "Some will display them in their rooms, and others will carry the teddies around with them."

For information about volunteering with Bear Magic and making donations, call (847) 367-0087.