THE EVESHAM Hotel has stitched up just under £10,000 for Acorns Children’s Hospice through the sale of its iconic handcrafted teddy bears.
The bears have been apart of the hotel for 24 years and were created by local seamstress, Vanessa Higgins, who announced her retirement after reaching the charitable total.
To celebrate the amount raised the hotel hosted a cheque presentation event (April 30), and held its last ever teddy bear sale which was the biggest to date, with bear enthusiasts and Vale residents claiming an array of the unique furry friends.
Sue Jenkinson, owner of the hotel said: “Vanessa’s bears have become an integral part of the Evesham Hotel by making all our guests feel welcome and at home.
“They take pole position in bedrooms as key fobs and have their very own cabinet, which was named after a very special little girl, Sophie, who unfortunately lost her battle with leukaemia aged just ten.
“In order to raise money for children like Sophie, the hotel has been selling Vanessa’s bears for a number of years directly to guests and through auctions. I am very proud of the funds we have managed to raise.
“With only 2,400 of these magnificent bears in existence, we are very interested to know how they are getting on as we know some have found loving homes in Australia, USA, Chile, Mexico, Dubai, France and Germany.”
The hotel has created a ‘Track the Bears’ campaign on Facebook, which asks for all owners of teddies purchased from the hotel to get in contact with an update and image of their bear.
To follow the campaign visit www.facebook.com/EveshamHotel or for more information on Acorn’s Children’s Hospice visit www.acorns.org.uk
Hotel owner John Jenkinson with community fundraising officer for Acorns Rachel Anstey, teddy bear maker Vanessa Higgins and Nigel Bird from Dovetail Joinery. Picture by Alex Bradbury. 1915002ABR1
