Bruce Templeton to release third book – Twenty Four Teddy Bears – September 29!

Creative Book Publishing is excited to present Twenty-Four Teddy Bears: A Christmas Journey by bestselling author Bruce Templeton.

Join us on Thursday, September 29, 2016 from 6pm to 8pm at the Knight of Columbus located at 49 St. Clare Avenue in St. John’s, NL, to join in the celebration.

Twenty-Four Teddy Bears chronicles twenty-four of Santa’s most memorable visits over the past thirty-seven years. These have taken him from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to Senior’s Homes, and Santa has left the bears with tiny newborns, people who’ve passed their 100th birthday, and all kinds of children, adults, Christmas doubters, and Christmas believers in-between.

Stories that will make you laugh and cry, but most importantly make you appreciate the true meaning of the holiday season.

All are welcome, admission is FREE, refreshments will be served and books will be available for purchase.

Visit the Facebook event page here, and feel free to invite/bring friends!

Some news from Bruce after assisting Santa this weekend…

Bruce had a busy weekend as he assisted Santa with a number of visits in Newfoundland and Labrador. Following some of the stops, Bruce had this to say:

Santa had quite a day with five visits starting at 10 am and ending at 6 pm and we met over 400 children. So five teddies are in the arms of five children tonight. But several of these visits were to companies who ask how Santa can be paid and the answer is always the same. Help Santa assist Rotary eliminate polio in the world. So while five children are sleeping with their teddies, the contributions today when matched will buy polio vaccine for 5000 children in Pakistan and Nigeria.

Yes Rudolph, Santa is tired but he had a wonderful day.

The local CBC also caught up with Santa during his visit to the Janeway Children’s Hospital in St. John’s, and filed this report:

Click the image to view video at CBC NL.

And in keeping with the theme of this post, here is an update from Santa about one young child he met some years ago:

Santa’s teddy is sleeping tonight in Torbay, NL with a very special little boy. Santa met Graysen three years ago on Christmas Eve in the Children’s Hospital. Then, for the first time ever, we met again for the second Christmas Eve two years ago. Yes, this little guy spends a great deal of time with his wonderful mother Alice in and out of the Janeway Childcare Centre. Sleep well little Graysen. You are a precious elf and we think of you every day. Enjoy my Teddy.

Santa and Graysen on their first meeting in 2012.

The teddy bear that Santa will give to children for 2015.

Bruce Templeton inducted into International Hall of Fame

Just 24 hours before the biggest day of the year for Santa Claus, Bruce Templeton got some very exciting news.  The Santa Claus International Hall of Fame has announced six inductees for 2014, and this morning Bruce was surprised with the news, he’d not only been nominated — he was one of that special six.

The Santa Claus International Hall of Fame is also inducting James F. Martin of Santa Claus, Indiana, Sam Militello of St. Clair, Michigan, Haddon Sunblom of Chicago, Illinois, Ron Robertson of San Juan Capistrano, California, and Tim Cavender of Ball Ground, Georgia.

The prestigious hall found inside Santa’s Candy Castle located in Santa Claus, Indiana includes some pretty famous friends of Santa Claus such as the first Miracle on 34th Street’s Kris Kringle, Edmund Gwenn (1877 – 1959), Mickey Rooney (1920 – 2014) for his voice portrayals in famous stop animation specials, Charles W. Howard (1896-1966) of Albion, New York and Jim Yellig (1894-1984) of Santa Claus, Indiana. Howard created the world’s first Santa Claus School and was Macy’s parade Santa for 18 years. Yellig became the official Santa to Santa Claus Land in 1946 and for the next 38 years had more children sit on his knee than any other Santa ever.

Other notable members of the hall include the first ever department store Santa, Scottish-born James Edgar (1843 – 1909) and Doug Mellor (1929 – 2004), a commercial Santa from the 60s and 70s who appeared in ads for Sears, Jell-O, Archway Cookies, McDonalds, and on the cover of McCall‘s magazine multiple times.

Along with the original Charter Members, the Saint that is the basis for the legend is honored. The International Santa Claus Hall of Fame is dedicated to Nicholas of Myra, the 4th century bishop known for his great deeds of generosity. St. Nicholas is known as the patron Saint of children.

Bruce is being inducted into the hall this year, recognizing his many decades dedicated to assisting Santa in a variety of ways, for his two books, and the work both he and they are doing in partnership with the Rotary Polio Plus program. He is humbled, honoured, and thrilled about the news, and will be the only living Canadian in the international hall of fame.

Click here to visit the official hall’s announcement page for bios and a video.

Santa’s Helper – The Rotarian

The Rotarian has included an article about The Man with the White Beard author Bruce Templeton in its recent December issue. Here is the copy from the magazine, sourced form the online version (which is here).

For most of the year, Bruce Templeton works as an investment adviser. But during the holiday season, he takes time off to do something different. As one of Santa’s helpers (as he puts it), he visits children in schools, hospitals, and churches, at company parties – even on a plane ride to the “North Pole” as part of a promotion for a radio station. His suit is handmade by elves, and his beard is so secure that he winces when kids pull on it. Many of the children Templeton has visited over the past 35 years have been critically ill or struggling with difficult circumstances at home. He has been there for lighter moments as well, such as receiving gifts of carrots for his reindeer. Templeton, a member of the Rotary Club of St. John’s, N.L., refuses to accept money, asking that any contributions for his 30 to 50 appearances per season be directed to Rotary. “I’m able to see Christmas through a set of eyes that few people get to see Christmas through,” he says, recalling one moment when a 17-year-old showed him her baby picture – an image of a tiny infant, so premature that her parents were not sure she would live, being cradled by Templeton. Such experiences inspired him to write a memoir in 2012 titled The Man in the Red Suit; he donated $10,000 in author royalties to PolioPlus. A sequel, The Man with the White Beard, was released this fall. – Vanessa Glavinskas

Bruce Templeton on creative process and charity tie-in

Canadian Red Cross Humanitarian Awards handed out

Bruce Templeton was honoured last night at the Canadian Red Cross Humanitarian Awards, along with Ashlee Gosse, for his efforts to raise funds for Rotary Polio Plus.  Over 150,000 vaccinations against polio have been afforded thanks to the proceeds raised through the sale of Templeton’s book The Man in the Red Suit (Creative Publishing) amongst other initiatives.

Check out this clipping from The Telegram of Bruce at the gala event.

Polio Campaign Update – Local author’s generosity inspires others

The Newfoundland and Labrador provincial newspaper, The Telegram, featured an article in the March 9 issue that shares the great news first posted here just before Christmas.  Take a look at the piece below by Tara Bradbury who caught up with Bruce Templeton as he and Creative Book Publisher’s president, Donna Francis, presented a big cheque!

Click above to read the article.

The Man in the Red Suit to provide Polio Vaccine to 50,000 children

Bruce Templeton’s good friend, Santa, visiting the NICU at the Janeway checking out The Man in the Red Suit

Polio is a disease that cannot be cured but it can be controlled. There is a Newfoundlander, Dr. Bruce Alyward who, since 1998, has been responsible for overseeing and coordinating all polio eradication activities across the World Health Organization’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative partnership. Rotary International is committed to the irradiation of polio and now working along with professionals in the three remaining countries where polio is a concern. They are Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

Bruce Templeton, author of The Man in the Red Suit said that he would take his revenue from the first printing and use it toward Rotary Polio Plus. A company heard of this offer and said that they would match his contribution to Rotary. But the story does not end there.

Every dollar donated to Polio Plus will be matched with $2. The Government of Canada and the Gates Foundation will match Rotarian donations to make it a 3:1 donation. There is a $1 million limit each from the Government of Canada and the Gates Foundation. The match is for donations made between June 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013.

So think of this: as you are sitting in your chair reading The Man in the Red Suit,  somewhere in the world, professionals are asking a child to stick out their tongue for a few drops of Polio vaccine.

The cost of the vaccine is about 60 cents per child and now, because you bought a book, it can happen for 50,000 children.