Workshop Volunteer

What does it take to be a Penny Bear volunteer? You need to be a child, or a teenager, a young or middle-aged adult, or a senior citizen…everyone with an open heart and a compassionate spirit is happily welcomed! When you visit our workshop, we ask your willingness to help with the simplest tasks…decorating the bears' carrying bags, folding brochures, helping at our display tables and mini-workshops at events, packaging and mailing out orders, writing letters and articles. There are many opportunities to make new friends!

Projects are always underway that require willing hands to help see our bears off on their special journeys. Whether you are new to volunteering…or a more experienced veteran…we'll be glad to have you join us

Donations/Fundraising

As an all-volunteer non-profit company, to accomplish our missions on behalf of others, we must rely on the sales of our bears and books and on any donations we gratefully receive.

As an example of fundraising that was done on our behalf, students at a local Charter School volunteered at our workshop as part of their community service curriculum. After completing their time with us, the students held raffles to help us support the Marblehead Food Pantry, and they also purchased a case of crayon packs to be donated with our activity books for children in hospitals and family shelters.

We were honored by a student action group at a nearby community college who not only volunteered with us, but also voted to donate the proceeds from their spring bake sale to help us provide bears for a local counseling center. We surprised the students and helped them experience what it feels like to give unconditionally. Each of them was given one of the bears they prepared, with our request that they find someone "whose heart needed a hug", and to gift the bear to that person and observe the reactions. It became a touching, meaningful experience for both the giver and the receiver!

Young children at a Marblehead day care center earned pennies by doing simple tasks at home, and then donated their money to help buy markers and colored pencils for packaging with note cards and activity books for ill children.