The idea for the TLC Essex Appeal came about in 1999 after the wife of an Essex Freemason suffered a severe allergiThe idea for the TLC Essex Appeal came about in 1999 after the wife of an Essex Freemason suffered a severe allergic reaction that closed her windpipe. Her life was saved by the rapid action of the medical staff at Southend University Hospital and, when her husband told the members of his lodge about her experience, they agreed to make a donation to the Nurse’s Charity as a thank you.
However, one member, Neil Beverley, wondered if they could do something more practical to help the medical staff, particularly when they were treating a traumatised child, and he came up with the idea of providing Paediatric A&E Departments (also known as Children’s Emergency Units) with cuddly Teddy Bears which they could use to pacify and distract distressed children; allowing medical staff to get on with the task of diagnosing and treating them. The idea of “Teddies for Loving Care” was born and was registered with the Charity Commission in 2000 as ‘Teddies for Loving Care (TLC Essex)’ Registered Charity No. 1087765.c reaction that closed her windpipe. Her life was saved by the rapid action of the medical staff at Southend University Hospital and, when her husband told the members of his lodge about her experience, they agreed to make a donation to the Nurse’s Charity as a thank you.
However, one member, Neil Beverley, wondered if they could do something more practical to help the medical staff, particularly when they were treating a traumatised child, and he came up with the idea of providing Paediatric A&E Departments (also known as Children’s Emergency Units) with cuddly Teddy Bears which they could use to pacify and distract distressed children; allowing medical staff to get on with the task of diagnosing and treating them. The idea of “Teddies for Loving Care” was born and was registered with the Charity Commission in 2000 as ‘Teddies for Loving Care (TLC Essex)’ Registered Charity No. 1087765.
A team of volunteer Essex Freemasons were recruited to form a Committee and to liaise with the eight Essex hospitals and, following consultations, the Appeal was launched in Essex in March 2001.
NHS staff tell us that the bears are invaluable in helping to calm a distressed child down, reward them for being brave and to demonstrate procedures and the bears can distract a child, allowing nurses and doctors to get on with diagnosing and treating them. The TLC teddy has become an invaluable tool for medical professionals and a real comfort for children.
Since those early days the Appeal has spread to every part of England & Wales and is also strong in some areas overseas, notably in Ireland, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Fiji, Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar and Spain.
In Essex alone we provide about 25,000 Teddies each year and since 2001 we have supplied over HALF A MILLION Teddies in Essex alone.
In 2022 we also donated TLC Teddies to the London Red Cross and the Metropolitan Police Search & Rescue Team who then coordinated the supply of Teddies to distressed refugee children arriving in the UK following the emergency evacuation of Afghanistan and, more recently, refugee children arriving from Ukraine.
Essex Freemasons are proud that an appeal which started in Essex has spread so far & wide but rather than thinking of it as 500,000 Teddies that we have donated we prefer to think of it as HALF A MILLION children who we have been able to help at a time of severe distress. Nationally over THREE MILLION children have received TLC Teddies and when we include the international recipients it rises to over FOUR MILLION.
It was recently calculated that a child now receives a TLC Teddy somewhere in the world every 2½ minutes!
It was recently calculated that a child now receives a TLC Teddy somewhere in the world every 2½ minutes!
The work of TLC is funded through the generous donations of Freemasons, their families and supporters of the programme. Many Freemasons also volunteer hundreds of hours each year to manage the scheme, deliver bears to hospitals, campaign to raise funds and increase awareness through events and talks.
There are 47 regional TLC programmes across England and Wales that provide teddies for their local A&E departments. Once a hospital joins the scheme they can replenish teddies on request through their local TLC representative. Some TLC programmes also donate a portion of their funds towards teddies for minor injuries units, children’s wards and hospices; there are even teddies flying on air ambulances!