– Travelodge invites local children and families to attend “The Great Sleepy Bear Swap” at the San Francisco Zoo on Saturday, October 13, 2012 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The special one-day event invites attendees to bring a gently-used stuffed animal to the zoo to donate to charity in exchange for one free kid’s admission and a brand new Sleepy Bear teddy bear. While free admission is limited to the first 100 children who bring a donation, everyone at the zoo is able to participate in fun-filled activities including face painting and drawing contests along with giveaways such as bear tattoos, National Geographic activity books and Sleepy Bear masks. A keeper from the zoo will also be on hand to educate children about bears and the role they play in the wild.

Stuffed animals gathered from the events will be donated to Stuffed Animals for Emergencies (S.A.F.E.), a national organization that cleans and redistributes the toys to children in need. For every stuffed animal donated at the event, the Travelodge hotel brand will match it with a donation of three brand new Sleepy Bear teddy bears to the Starlight Children’s Foundation, up to 1,500 bears.