Reva Stewart, a volunteer manager at the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, welcomed Dos Pueblos High School students to the first Teddy Bear Club meeting, hosted in H-12 on Wednesday.

The Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation has been around for 22 years, and now DPHS students have the ability to advocate for kids with cancer due to the creation of the club. Stewart said the main purpose of the club is to help provide families with love and support through the many support systems offered by the foundation.

“Teddy Bear Club [members] have helped us by doing fundraising and using their dollars to help make craft kits for kids [with cancer],” Stewart said. “The ultimate [duty] of the club is to take care of families in [the] really difficult time they are going through.”

The club president, Reggi Drew (10), said she had been a volunteer with the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation for over a year before she realized that DPHS was the only high school without their own Teddy Bear Club.

“I want to raise more awareness for kids with cancer and just get [students] to come and help us out,” Drew said. “[Students] can also get more volunteer hours [from] the club and learn more about [cancer awareness].”

Drew said that the club plans to have bake sales, write encouraging letters to cancer patients, and wrap presents once the holidays begin to come closer.

Balancing school and the club is something Drew currently finds difficult for her, but she said she is currently working on that and plans to advertise more for the club later on. She added that club meetings will be on the last Wednesday of each month.

“For the future of the club, I hope that people enjoy coming to the club,” Drew said. “And find [the club] as a safe space and have fun doing activities with other students.”