By STEPHEN HAMMILL

Gaither High School teacher Beverly Jarrett and the Gaither National Honor Society sponsored a hugely successful bear drive for the Rough Riders, collecting teddy bears for donation to local hospitals this holiday season.

The Rough Riders Tampa chapter came to the school to pick up the bears on the morning of Dec. 8. The Gaither bear drive, spurred on by a challenge from Sickles High School’s Sue Traynham to see which school could collect the most bears, brought in more than 3,000 bears.

The 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment “Rough Riders,” Inc., was formed for the purpose of creating and perpetuating a living memorial to the unique accomplishment of President Theodore Roosevelt and the members of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment known as the “Rough Riders”. It boasts approximately 540 members.

Every holiday season the Rough Riders take the bears to sick children in local hospitals, as well as local fire and police departments, on a daily basis.
The Rough Riders can be reached by phone at 248-1898.