Marlboro graduate lifts spirits with teddy bears
BY REBECCA MORTON
Staff Writer

MARLBORO - Children living in extreme poverty curl up to go to sleep on a bed of dirt. It was images like this broadcast on an episode of Oprah Winfrey's television show that inspired Adam Sternbach, of Marlboro, to give some hope to children. The hope comes in the shape of a teddy bear.

"It touched me," Sternbach, 19, said of the Oprah episode. "I knew there was a lot more that could be done to help kids."

With that thought in mind Sternbach went on to develop the charitable organization Teddy Bears for Hope Inc.

According to a press release, Teddy Bears for Hope is a charitable organization dedicated to providing children with hope for the future through the comfort and security of a new teddy bear.

Sternbach said he receives requests for teddy bears from different organizations. Locally, he has received requests from organizations including Monmouth Medical Center; 180, Turning Lives Around; and Friends of the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center.

Sternbach seeks donations of money and uses the funds to purchase new teddy bears from a manufacturer. The teddy bears are then delivered to the agencies that requested them.

"I thought this was a great idea since I am not financially able to do a lot at the moment," he said.

Sternbach said that as he grew up in Marlboro he wanted to help people in his community.

"When I started, I didn't fully understand how big a need there was locally. It was something you would expect in a big city, but it's right here in Monmouth County," Sternbach said.

He believes people sometimes forget there are children in this suburban area who live in poverty, in an abusive home, or face a struggle with a serious illness.

Some of the requests for help Sternbach has received are from agencies that would like to have the teddy bears during the holiday season. Other organizations said they would like to have the bears whenever Sternbach is able to provide them.

Sternbach, a student at Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y., teamed up with Syracuse's Red Cross chapter to make his first distribution of teddy bears. The bears were provided to emergency response teams so they may be handed out to youngsters who have been involved in an emergency and would like a friend to hold close.

Teddy Bears for Hope has made five donations to date, totaling about 165 bears. One collection of bears is getting ready to be sent overseas to comfort children in Iraq, according to Sternbach, who is a graduate of Marlboro High School.

He primarily works alone in this venture, receiving occasional assistance from his parents. Sternbach said any donation would be appreciated. For more information visit teddybearsforhope.org or write to Teddy Bears for Hope, P.O. Box 82, Wickatunk 07765.