Every child should wake up with a bear to hug.

A St. Pete community drive. Neighbors fill the boxes, Santa’s trolley carries them to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.

Get involved or send bears

Dec 16, 2025 — nearly 300 bears, one trolley

Last day for bears

December 15

2026 — get your bears in by then

0 of 500 bears

Room for 500. Help us fill it.

This is the trolley for 2026. Our goal is 500 new, soft bears for kids at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Every bear that comes in, from a lobby box, an Amazon order or a pickup, gets counted here together, with no names attached. The last day for bears is December 15.

How a Hug Gets Delivered

Step 1: A business hosts a box.
Step 2: People drop off or ship bears.
Step 3: Santa’s trolley collects every box.
Step 4: A child wakes up from surgery with a bear to hug.

See how it works

how we pictured it

Dec 16, 2025 — how it went

Santa drove them there.

Every box, every bear, one vintage trolley to All Children’s.

Three ways to send a hug.

every box gets wrapped its own way

Host a Box

Put a decorated drop-off box in your lobby for the season. Your customers and neighbors fill it, and Santa’s trolley picks it up.

Box spots are limited by what Santa’s trolley can carry, so hosts are confirmed in the order they sign up.

Apply to host a box

Send Bears

Order on Amazon and the bears ship straight to Tina.

Bear rules: New. Soft. Washable. No batteries or hard parts.

Send a bunch of bears Send a couple of bears

Or pick up bears at any store and call Tina at (352) 213-1084 for a pickup.

Rather give money? Call Tina, she’ll turn it into bears.

Become a Partner

Stand behind the drive as a Big Hug Partner, with a thank-you from Tina herself.

Become a Big Hug Partner Meet our sponsors

As a nurse for over 27 years, I’ve seen kids in the operating room who are scared and can’t be with their parents. Having something to hold on to and love makes all the difference. It says: you’re not alone.