KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Hosts: Myles McNamara
Guests: Maria Strmsek from Henry Mayo, Jackie DeBeche from Henry Mayo, Amanda Benson from Elite Magazine, Jackie, Linda Lieblang from the SCV Senior Center, Suzann Nelson from the SCV Senior Center
Topic: Donate A Bear Drive And Aging With Dignity Symposum – April 5, 2016
Airing Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m., Aging With Power is a discussion of all things that get you from conception to funeral reception, with host Myles McNamara!
Aging With Power with host Myles McNamara – April 5, 2016
Get all the information you need on Aging With Power here!
In the first half of Tuesday’s Aging With Power, Myles welcomes the great ladies behind Henry Mayo Hospital’s “Donate A Bear” Drive for the children in the emergency room. Guests Maria Strmsek and Amanda Benson discuss how and where you can donate a stuffed animal and the power that it can have in helping to heal young patients.
In the second hour, Myles speaks with the ladies behind the upcoming symposium “Knowledge Is Power Aging With Dignity Symposium” to discuss the importance of understanding that the aging process does not have to be ugly and uncomfortable.
“When caregivers come to this event they can meet other caregivers … the support that caregivers receive is immeasurable.”
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital is inviting the community to participate in the annual “Donate a Bear” drive to help bring comfort to sick or injured children being treated in the emergency room.
“There’s something about the look of a stuffed animal that these kids [patients in the Emergency Room] gravitate to.”
Co-Organized by Maria Strmsek and Amanda Benson
Starting April 1, residents can donate a new 9- to 12-inch teddy bear or plush animal friend for one of the 12,215 children that arrive through the hospital’s Emergency Department doors every year.
“This is an opportunity for the Santa Clarita Valley to show our kids that we care,” said Maria Strmsek, director of volunteer services at Henry Mayo. “We’ve had tremendous support from the community in the past and we look forward to surpassing our collection of more than 5,000 plush animals last year.”
In addition to individual donations, more than 40 organizations, businesses, nonprofits and schools donated stuffed animals in 2015, according to Strmsek.
Numerous businesses around the Santa Clarita Valley — including KHTS AM-1220 in Old Town Newhall — are set to be designated drop-off locations for the drive, which ends on April 30.
Henry Mayo originally started collecting the bears and other stuffed animals in September 2012 to celebrate National Teddy Bear Day, and since then, the collection drive has grown into a month-long event.
Amanda Benson, co-organizer of the teddy bear collection drive, saw first-hand the benefits her own child experienced as a Henry Mayo E.R. patient several years ago when he was given a teddy bear.
Benson has since taken an active role in collecting donations for the annual drive.
“I want to thank the community for the continuous support and generosity,” she said. “I look forward to surpassing 5,000 this year.”
To find out more information look up Donate A Bear on Facebook or call the Henry Mayo Hospital and ask for Maria
