Dear East Taieri School,

Teddy Bear Hospital is back again this year for it’s eighth year! This is an awesome event run by Otago Medical and Dental Students where children can bring in their sick teddies and have them checked by our teddy doctors and dentists. Our aim is to reduce some of the anxiety and fear that children experience at the prospect of visiting the doctor or dentist. This venture is thus preventative in nature, attempting to provide children with the opportunity to see that visiting these health professionals can be exciting and fun, rather than being scary and daunting.

Our annual Community Day, which is open to the public, is being held on Saturday 18th May this year from 10am-2pm at the Hunter Centre (corner of Great King and Frederick Streets). As well as teddy doctor and dentist consultations, we will have a sausage sizzle, bouncy castle, face painting, obstacle courses, and St John Ambulance there on the day.

Community day is open to children of any age, however children aged 3-8, or those

that have had a hard time with health care professionals in the past, seem to benefit the most.

Teddy Bear Hospital is a free event which is really popular each year, so bookings are essential! Consultations can be booked by visiting our website: https://tbhdunedin.com/

This is a non-profit event that relies on assistance from the community to make this happen. We would really appreciate it if you could help us advertise in your school newsletter. I have also attached a poster to this email for you to use, if you would like.

Kind regards,

Josephine Schafer

On behalf of the Teddy Bear Hospital Committee 2019