Former CHBC weatherman Mike Roberts displays one of 60 sponsored bears while filming TV spots for this year’s Good News Bears campaign outside Valley First Credit Union in Oliver on November 20.
Erin Christie photo
With a name like Good News Bears, the campaign might sound a little on the fluffy side but one conversation with its spokesman Mike Roberts and it’s clear the campaign is vital to a growing number of British Columbians.
“It’s a sad reality that so many people are struggling just to feed their families,” he said. “That shouldn’t be happening in Canada.”
The annual campaign that raises funds and awareness for food banks in the Okanagan Valley through the sale of one-of-a-kind teddy bears created by Kelowna ‘bearmaker’ Lisa Oldring. Each bear is sponsored by a business, charitable organization or individual, and then donated to Global Okanagan for viewers to bid on.
That’s when Roberts works his magic and the donations pour in. Viewers bid by writing out a cheque to the food bank of their choice and the names are entered into a random draw. The winners are selected on December 11.
The former weatherman has been the driving force behind the campaign since it’s inception in 1989. He said the inspiration came from some of his colleagues. “One of our reporters was in Salmon Arm doing a story with a company called, Bears at Bedtime. The proprietor Don Munro told our reporter to take one of the bears back and see what he could do with it,” he explained.
“Our general manager at the time suggested using the bear to raise money for a food bank because his family received help from a food bank when he was younger. ”
During that evening’s broadcast Roberts asked viewers to send a donation to the Salmon Arm Food Bank for a chance to win the bear through a random draw. 
The draw raised $800 for the Salmon Arm Food Bank. The next year four bears arrived and brought in about $10,000.
The following year there were nine bears, then fifteen, then twenty-four. This year 60 bears were sponsored.
“It’s very organic,” noted Roberts. “The people who love the bears buy the bears year after year. It’s amazing to see how much we’ve grown.”
Roberts was at Oliver Place Mall on November 20 to promote the campaign and film some of the Good News Bears telecast. Eunice Marriott was one of several Oliver residents who stopped by to get a glimpse of Roberts and his bears. Marriott said she bids every year because she knows the money will go to a good cause. “I’ve been fortunate enough to never have needed to use a food bank but I know there are plenty enough people out there that do, right here in Oliver. We need to help keep our food bank going,” she said.
To bid on a bear and help a food bank in the Okanagan Valley you can do so by completing an entry form at globalnews.ca/Okanagan or at any Valley First location.
Erin Christie
Oliver Chronicle
