About TLC
We are non Profit Team
The idea for Teddies for Loving Care (TLC) goes back to early 2000 in Essex. The wife of a member of Thamesmouth Lodge No. 6994, which meets in Southend, had been rushed to A&E at Southend University Hospital and as a thank you to the staff for the excellent treatment she received the members voted to make a small donation to the hospital charity.
One member however, W.Bro Neil Beverley, thought they could do better and came up with the idea to supply A&E departments with colourful TLC Teddies which could be given to traumatised children arriving in hospital for treatment; and the TLC Appeal in Essex was born. The first TLC Teddies were distributed in March 2001 to seven Essex and Greater London hospitals.
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 and, more recently, in New Zealand.
In Essex alone we provide almost 25,000 Teddies each year and since the appeal was launched in 2001 we have supplied over HALF A MILLION Teddies in Essex & Greater London to eight hospitals, five walk-in centres, the Essex & Herts Air Ambulance and an NHS Child Death Review Team.
Additionally, in 2022, we also donated TLC Teddies to the London Red Cross and the Metropolitan Police Search & Rescue who then coordinated the supply of Teddies to distressed refugee children arriving in the UK following the 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.
One member however, W.Bro Neil Beverley, thought they could do better and came up with the idea to supply A&E departments with colourful TLC Teddies which could be given to traumatised children arriving in hospital for treatment; and the TLC Appeal in Essex was born. The first TLC Teddies were distributed in March 2001 to seven Essex and Greater London hospitals.
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 and, more recently, in New Zealand.
In Essex alone we provide almost 25,000 Teddies each year and since the appeal was launched in 2001 we have supplied over HALF A MILLION Teddies in Essex & Greater London to eight hospitals, five walk-in centres, the Essex & Herts Air Ambulance and an NHS Child Death Review Team.
Additionally, in 2022, we also donated TLC Teddies to the London Red Cross and the Metropolitan Police Search & Rescue who then coordinated the supply of Teddies to distressed refugee children arriving in the UK following the 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.
The Teddies for Loving Care initiative provides unique cuddly bears to Accident & Emergency departments for medical staff to give at their discretion to young children. The bears are used to calm children down, reward them for being brave or to demonstrate procedures. Often the bears distract children so nurses and doctors can get their jobs done quickly and efficiently. The TLC teddy has become an invaluable tool for medical professionals and a real comfort for children.
The Origins of the Appeal
The TLC Appeal originated after an allergic reaction suddenly caused the swelling and blocking of the windpipe of the wife of a Freemason. Her life was saved by the rapid action of the medical staff at an A&E unit, who were able to resuscitate and stabilise her. They are both eternally grateful for the swift and caring attention that she received, but found the experience the most frightening of their lives and speculated on the distress that children must face when visiting A&E units.
The idea of doing something useful for medical staff at A&E units was discussed with other local Freemasons, and from that point the compulsive idea of “Teddies for Loving Care” was born. The charity was registered in 2000 and the Appeal was launched in Essex in 2001. Prior to the launch, a great deal of research was carried out. Hospitals were asked how many teddies would be needed. We had to establish what style and size of teddy would be suitable in order to meet stringent toy safety regulations and be ‘cuddly’ enough to appeal to small children. We needed to find a distributor that could source and deliver the teddies for us at reasonable cost. By canvassing local Masonic lodges and explaining the concept, we gained confidence that support for the Appeal would be there.
The TLC Appeal - Essex (Charity number: 1087765) is a part of a national initiative which supplies teddy bears to distressed and frightened under 5's in A&E units county wide.Supported by Freemasons
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!
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