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Periodical Teddy Bear &Friends Organizes teddy bear giveaway to survivors of World Trade Center victims
from Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management
Nov, 2001 by Whitney Joiner

As the horror of the events of September 11 unfolded, Marianne Clay, like many others in the magazine business, found herself wanting to help somehow beyond donating money. Luckily, Clay is the managing editor of Teddy Bear & Friends. "And what could be more natural for us than to give away teddy bears?"

Clay and her staff at the Primedia-owned magazine (and part of the same company as Folio:) launched "Project Compassion," a teddy bear donation drive for the families who suffered losses in the World Trade Center and Pentagon disasters. "Teddy bear people are usually very generous, and everybody seemed to believe that a teddy bear can be a healing object," says Clay.

The magazine's Web site called for donations of the stuffed bears and for addresses of anyone directly affected. As of mid October, they had received about 300 bears and sent out 35; they'll continue collecting until Christmas, says Clay.

For Clay, the biggest surprise has been the international response. She says she's received bears from all over the world - England, Germany and 21 from Japan, each one outfitted with a patriotic symbol like the Statue of Liberty or the American flag. "People outside the U.S. feel very bad," says Clay. "I wasn't even expecting that."

Other magazines have also found ways to make contributions based on their expertise or subject matter. International Data Group's Computerworld, a weekly newspaper for information technology managers, created a database of volunteers able to offer IT products or services to companies left debilitated by the attacks. The database, which had generated 2,697 volunteers as of October 10, has been turned over to companies that will match the IT workers with businesses. "Anybody can give money to the Red Cross, but [the volunteers] wanted specifically to help businesses get back on their feet," says Computerworld editor in chief. Maryfran Johnson. "This just felt like the right thing."

COPYRIGHT 2001 Copyright by Media Central Inc., A PRIMEDIA Company. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
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