OUR STORY | FOUNDERS

OUR STORY

Teddy Bear Party’s history has continued to involve with many thanks to the extraordinary support of our dedicated sponsors, the LGBTQ+ community, and our allies.

Jason Hanna, the Founder and Executive Director, started hosting holiday parties at his home in 2009.  With the first couple years being dedicated toy drives, the event in 2011 took the party in a new direction.

Going into the holiday season of 2011, Jason’s mom, Kaye, was diagnosed was stage 4 lung cancer and the prognosis was not good.  In honor of the battle Kaye was about to embark on, Jason decided to do a teddy bear drive in Kaye’s name and the donate them to a local children’s hospital.

The LGBTQ+ community rallied behind Jason and that first year, Teddy Bear Party donated 225+ teddy bears.  TBP 2011 was the last event Kaye attended and after only a four month battle, Kaye lost her courageous battle.

In her memory along with all our loved ones that have been impacted by this disease, their legacy continues to live on and we dedicate the annual event to all those that we have lost or been impacted by this disease.

TBP’s mission is dedicated to causes that Kaye held dear to her heart:  Children, Equality, and Fighting a disease which has impacted us all.

Since 2011, TBP has donated over $685k inclusive of over 13k teddy bears to its beneficiaries!  Year after year, the LGBTQ community and its allies come together during the holidays and pay it forward.

FOUNDERS

Jason Hanna

Jason

Joseph Riggs

Joe

Steve Rahhal

Steven

Gary McDonald

Gary

Mike Richardson

Mike

Julio Gonzalez

julio

Mark LeDoux

Mark

Bryan Carr

Bryan

Mark Clay

Mark 2