Teddy Bear Express
The Rules - the important ones
It's TIME for Teddy Bear Express (TBE) sign ups!!
( Deadline for sign ups is August 23, Bears go on the road between September 6 and 11, 2008 )
Please read this carefully and in full as there are some changes this year. I've tried to simplify as best as I can. Please refer to the Bear Keeper and Host Rule pages for more information and do not hesitate to email me at janalyn686@yahoo.com with questions.
What is TBE?
TBE is one or more teddy bears that travel around the United States and Canada from one family child care, daycare center, or school to another, staying one week, and then returning home. Each TBE route is comprised of one Bear Keeper (the person that purchases or uses their own bear and prepares the traveling box) and 5 or more Hosts (the people who get to have a bear come and visit them). TBE is done as a fun Geography lesson for the children in our care. TBE takes place once per year, with the bears leaving in September and returning home in December.
Who May Apply?
Any person in the United States or Canada involved with children as a family child care provider, center worker, teacher, etc. This year Applications will be accepted from both the Provider's Playground (PP) list and the general public. Newbies as of July 31, 2008, are welcome to apply as a PP member, however no one will be allowed to join PP solely for the purpose of joining TBE and securing the cheaper Deposit (see below for more Deposit information). Therefore no new members joining PP on or after August 1, 2008, may apply for TBE unless they submit the higher Deposit rate. If you know of someone who may be interested in joining TBE, please pass this email along to them.
What Do I Need To Do To Sign Up And When?
1. The Application - the Application can be downloaded right here or from the main TBE page as a MS Word document. You may either print it out and mail it to my home (address on the Application) or you may email it back to me at janalyn686@yahoo.com. If you cannot open the attachment, please email me and let me know and I can copy and paste the questions into an email for you.
Download Application
2. The Deposit - I ask for a Deposit because it helps ensure that our teddy bears return home safely. Prior to requiring a Deposit, we frequently had bears that came up 'lost.' Since the Deposit requirement, we have had a 100% success rate with our bears returning home.
The Deposit for non PP members is $45, the Deposit for PP members is $25, and the Deposit for PP members who are list Volunteers is $15. All deposits (minus $5) will be returned to you at the end of your teddy bear's route provided that you followed all of the rules for your particular position in this program. The $5 that I keep will be used for postage and envelopes to return your Deposits, PayPal fees, website fees, phone expenses, and my time. Deposits will be returned all at once at the end of your particular route when your bear is safely home provided you have met all of the TBE rules for your particular position.
Deposits may be made by cash to my home address, Cashier's Checks, Money Orders, or PayPal. Absolutely NO personal checks accepted. Your Deposit will be returned to you either by my own personal check in the mail or by PayPal, whichever you prefer.
Don't forget for those of you who are self-employed as Family Child Care Providers, all of your expenses associated with TBE are a 100% direct tax write off for you. Keep good records.
3. Picture, Name, and Sex of Bear - If you are applying for a position as a Bear Keeper, you must email me one or two photos of your teddy bear, along with the bear's name and sex at the time of your Application. All photos must be submitted in .jpg format.
4. Deadline - for me to have all of the above is Saturday, August 23.
When Do The Bears Leave?
Between Saturday, September 6, 2008 and Thursday, September 11, 2008. If you are choosen as a Bear Keeper, please let me know which day you will mail out your bear.
Tell me more about the Bear Keeper and Host positions on TBE
All Applicants apply for a Host position. If you'd like to prepare a box and send a bear out, you may also apply for a Bear Keeper position. There are only a few Bear Keeper positions, approximately one for every 5 or 6 Hosts. Please read the rules thoroughly for both positions before deciding on whether or not to apply and in what aspect.
BEARKEEPER RULES http://stepbystepcc.com/tbe/bearkeeperrules.html
HOST RULES http://stepbystepcc.com/tbe/hostrules.html
Is There Anything Else I Need To Know?
Please know that I do my best to approve all Applications but I cannot guarantee that you will be able to participate. It is possible you may live in a location that just won't work for any route. I almost always am in need of Hosts in the Southern or Western states. In the case of multiple Applicants in one area, the first Application received will be given preference. If you are not approved for TBE, your Deposit (minus $5) will be returned immediately.
Once you are approved for TBE and placed on a route, you will be invited to join our TBE email list. You must remain on this list until your bear returns safely home. If you are a PP member, you must also remain a member until your bear returns home.
Any one bear may go out a 2nd time after which he/she will be retired.
No smoking around the traveling teddy bear is permitted.
All or part of any email sent to the TBE email list may be quoted on your bear's webpage.
Important mailing rules stipulate that you mail the bear to the next location via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation. Insurance is optional. Upon request, you will need to give me your Confirmation Number for tracing the bear's whereabouts.
Please make sure you are familiar with ALL the rules for this project. They are all put into place for a reason and are important to ensure a successful venture. Failure to follow the TBE rules will result in forfeiting your Deposit.
I believe this is an AWESOME project. Some of our bears and daycares have made the newspapers and news. If you would like to return to our main TBE page, please go here.
Please consider joining this very fun project!
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