Teddy Bears Anonymous hosted its inaugural Jump for Charity Skydiving Challenge at the Moose Jaw Municipal Airport on Saturday in partnership with Skydive South Sask.

A pair of Saskatchewan RCMP officers and Sherwood Co-op CEO Troy Verboom made the tandem leap in support of the Regina-based non-profit organization, which provides factory cello-sealed/sterile teddy bears for sick children in Saskatchewan Hospitals and EMS Services.

"I founded Teddy Bears Anonymous after my daughter passed away from a rare form of gastric cancer," explained Teddy Bears Anonymous President Luke Lawrence. "Her legacy is these teddy bears for sick kids in the hospital. We started with one hospital and we have 21 now participating. We started with one EMS, and now we have 46."

The charity is run by volunteers with all funds raised used to purchase teddy bears for sick kids.

Teddy Bears Anonymous is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, having gifted 190,000 bears to sick children over that time period.

"We order them directly from the factory and they're cello sealed, so SHA has approved them, so the children can take them right into surgeries. It's a unique application that we're proud of," added Lawrence.

He notes Moose Jaw and District EMS is part of the program and they were recently approached by the local hospital.

As of Monday, the Jump for Charity Skydiving Challenge had raised over $12,000.

Three members of the Regina Police Service are also raising money and will head out to the Moose Jaw Municipal Airport on Saturday, Sept. 9 to skydive in support of the cause. Their jump is scheduled for 9 a.m.

Teddy Bears AnonymousSherwood Co-op CEO Troy Verboom gets suited up.

This past weekend, participants signed waivers and watched a short video prior to their tandem jumps, which were made from 7,500 feet above ground. The flight up took roughly 25 minutes. The trip down was much shorter, with an 18-second freefall and another four or five minutes under canopy. Jumpers reached speeds of 120 miles per hour during the freefall portion.

Teddy Bears Anonymous provides bears to 39 Saskatchewan RCMP detachments through their victim services program. They also work with the Regina Police Service through the same program.

Cst. Danielle Spraggs, an RCMP Member from the Ahtahkakoop Detachment, was one of the two officers who jumped on Saturday. This was her second time skydiving.

"It was amazing. The freefall and seeing all of Saskatchewan below you, it was so cool. It definitely didn't feel like it was 20 seconds of falling but it was so cool," she said.

Cst. James Bliss, of the Southey RCMP Detachment, said skydiving was something he's wanted to take off of his bucket list.

"Last year I wanted to do it for my 40th birthday, it just didn't work out. I've worked in emergency services for over 15 years and have used Teddy Bears Anonymous through that. Last year actually, my son broke his arm and got a teddy bear when he was in the hospital so I was well aware of Teddy Bears Anonymous and wanted to help out with that too."

Both Spraggs and Bliss said they would definitely make the jump again.

"It was awesome. Coming out of the plane is a different experience for sure but the freefall and the parachuting was just so cool," added Bliss.

The charity event has turned into a bit of a friendly competition with both groups raising about $6,000 so far, with the Regina Police Service team slightly in the lead. Lawrence said the goal is to raise $15,000 in celebration of the charity's 15-year anniversary. Every five dollars raised buys a teddy bear for a sick child.

To make a donation visit www.teddybearsanonymous.ca and mention Jump for Charity in the comment section.

Teddy Bears Anonymous is a provincial health care partner with the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation.

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