Volunteer Experience: Operation Teddy Bear

Volunteer with the Open Hearts Foundation at our next volunteer experience:

Operation Teddy Bear 

supporting The Volunteer Center South Bay/Harbor/Long Beach

on Saturday, January 20, 2024

Sign Up!

We invite all volunteers, ages 13 and up to join us for an experience with one of our charity partners, The Volunteer Center of South Bay/Harbor/Long Beach. They need help with their Operation Teddy Bear program. We will be assembling backpacks that will be distributed to underserved children throughout the South Bay of Los Angeles County.

The Volunteer Center has served South Bay and surrounding communities for over 60 years.  Founded in 1994, Operation Teddy Bear helps address community needs by providing over 4000 school bags annually to first graders in under-resourced schools in Los Angeles and Long Beach Unified School districts.  Each child will be provided with a  brightly colored school bag that includes reading books, S.T.E.A.M. kits, coloring books, learning clocks, paint sets, pencils, math flashcards, a toothbrush, and, of course, a Teddy Bear.  You can read more about the program here.  


What should you Expect?

When you and your friends or family sign up, we will send you all of the details. It will be an enjoyable day, indoors, with our family of volunteers putting the donated products in each back pack. They ask that all volunteers be 13 years or older.

We will be volunteering for two sessions.  You can volunteer for the morning session or the afternoon session, or both.  We will take care of the details and make sure to provide you with the Waiver form.  Here is the duration for each session:

Morning:  9 AM - 11 AM

Afternoon:  11 AM - 1 PM


If you are unable to volunteer on January 20, 2024, there is time to make this New Year a purposeful one by seeking out a volunteer opportunity with one of our charity partners. 

As a small charitable Foundation with an enormous mission, we still have work to do! We invite you to join the Open Hearts Movement and help move our mission forward.  Here’s the latest news:

  • Open Hearts Foundation is so grateful for our volunteers and all of our supporters in the Open Hearts Movement. Here is a glimpse of what we were able to accomplish in 2023: 2023 Impact Report.

Happy New Year!