{"id":107278,"date":"2026-02-06T20:36:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/107278\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T20:36:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:36:06","slug":"teddies-tossed-at-scranton-high-to-raise-awareness-for-teen-dating-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/107278\/","title":{"rendered":"Teddies tossed at Scranton High to raise awareness for teen dating violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soft, stuffed animals hit the hardwood before the boys basketball game at Scranton High School on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The teddy bear toss was part Scranton\u2019s chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions effort to draw attention to Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people might not know something is wrong,\u201d Scranton High\u2019s Students Against Destructive Decisions Vice President junior Sophia Laffey said. \u201cThe event will help bring awareness to unhealthy relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StuffedStuffed animals save the spots of Scranton cheerleaders while they perform before the basketball game at Scranton High School in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

According to loveisrepect.org, operated by the National Domestic Abuse Hotline, one in three teens will experience some form of dating abuse before they reach adulthood.<\/p>\n

Scranton\u2019s SADD president Zahir Kennedy also expressed his hope that the teddy toss would highlight a topic he believes many might be uncomfortable speaking about.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully we can do something that shows it\u2019s OK to come forward and talk to our administrators or guidance counselors,\u201d Kennedy said, adding the idea for the teddy toss from seeing similar events on social media. He and the other SADD members thought WRC, formerly the Women\u2019s Resource Center, was a perfect donation partner given the organization\u2019s mission and the month\u2019s awareness campaign.<\/p>\n

\"ScrantonScranton cheerleaders collect the stuffed animals tossed from the stands during the basketball game at Scranton High School in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

The nonprofit\u2019s website describes WRC\u2019s goals to educate the community about domestic and dating violence and provide resources to survivors.<\/p>\n

SADD members said they want to show those who receive the bears that the community cares.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope we can share there\u2019s still hope and people do kind things,\u201d said sophomore member Marley Montoro.<\/p>\n

Students and community members gained free admission to the game against Wallenpaupack if they brought a stuffed animal. Some were even sold at the door. Wallenpauack High School\u2019s chapter of SADD also collected bears and made a cash donation to WRC.<\/p>\n

\"CommunityCommunity members hold their bears during the basketball game at Scranton High School in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

At halftime, a video created by Scranton students played. The video gave statistics about teen dating violence and showed examples of what unhealthy relationships look like. Following the presentation, a countdown appeared on the digital scoreboard. And then, a whole zoo sailed from the stands.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit WRC\u2019s Teen Educator Counselor Advocate Nuris Perdomo expressed how important it is to see students support other students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often teach children to help a friend because they usually won\u2019t go to a parent or a teacher to talk about these problems,\u201d Perdomo explained.<\/p>\n

WRC educates students in Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties about healthy relationships through their Safe Dates curriculum. Perdomo said the program teaches how to set boundaries, recognize red flags and advocate for their peers.<\/p>\n

\"ScrantonScranton cheerleaders collect the stuffed animals tossed from the stands during the basketball game at Scranton High School in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 05, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf teens recognize what a healthy relationship looks like,\u201d Perdomo stated. \u201cThey\u2019re more likely to recognize signs of abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added young adults are most likely to face types of emotional or verbal abuse. Some examples of this might look like insults, or forms of manipulation.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents could spot if their child is dealing with abuse if they become withdrawn, their grades are falling, or they don\u2019t want to go to school,\u201d Perdomo said.<\/p>\n

WRC provided 32 individuals from the ages of 13 to 17 last year with services like counseling and safety planning.<\/p>\n

Perdomo said some of the donated teddies will find homes with the children in WRC\u2019s safe housing program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about a donation,\u201d Perdomo emphasized. \u201cIt\u2019s about young people caring about safe and healthy relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Soft, stuffed animals hit the hardwood before the boys basketball game at Scranton High School on Thursday. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,28,178,180,179],"class_list":["post-107278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}