Archive: Around Town

Syracuse - 4,283 teddy bears. Amazing! Thanks to the generosity of Stanley Steemer, the Syracuse Crunch Hockey Club and thousands of delighted fans, this mountain of teddy bears are poised to be adopted in Central New York's greatest event of generosity, the Salvation Army's Christmas Bureau, scheduled for this Wednesday, December 19, 2016 at the OnCenter in downtown Syracuse.

The plush toys were collected from the ice at last Saturday's Syracuse Crunch hockey game against the Rochester Americans and have been cleaned, repaired and refurbished at Stanley Steemer of Syracuse. Steemer's expert technicians use their well learned skills to clean every toy, disinfect and dry them, so that they are in as close to "like new" condition as possible.

Once the toys are completely done, they are bagged and transported to the OnCenter, where volunteers separate them by age-appropriateness, and bag them for distribution at the Christmas bureau.


Four technicians work for several full days to prepare the mass of toys for distribution. Unlike their normal cleaning of carpets, this job is a bit of whimsy and fun which they dive into with broad smiles.

This charitable act is standard practice for both the Syracuse Crunch Hockey Club and for Stanley Steemer. They have been working together since 2003 when the signature Stanley Steemer ice resurfacer made its debut. When the idea of the Teddy Bear Toss presented itself, both organizations enthusiastically determined to bring the event to Syracuse. This year is the 8'th Annual, and there will be many more to come.

Jeff Trisciani, owner of Stanley Steemer of Syracuse, says "This is our way to give back to the Central New York Community for supporting and blessing our business." Jeff and his family also volunteer at the Salvation Army's Christmas Bureau

Jim Sarosy, COO of the Crunch echoes that sentiment, praising the loyal fans, and his players who seem to thrive on community service - when they aren't entertaining their fans with first class hockey.

The Teddy Bear Toss is a big event – thousands of fans bringing and throwing the 4,000 plus toys on to the ice – but it is only a tiny corner of the Salvation Army's Christmas bureau where well over four thousands of Central New York's less fortunate are provided with Christmas dinner, books, toys, personal items and, of course, Teddy Bears.

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