West Coast Eagles fans opened up their hearts and wallets last Friday night at Subiaco Oval as they threw their support behind the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) Foundation’s ‘Wear a Bear’ campaign and helped raise over $23,000 for the kids at PMH.

PMH volunteers worked tirelessly around the ground during the Eagles round four win over the Bombers selling limited edition blue and gold clip-on bears with proceeds going towards purchasing vital equipment for the hospital.

Every year, an Eagles home fixture is dedicated to the PMH Foundation and thanks to the continuing support of the club’s members and fans, this year’s total surpassed the amount raised in 2009 by more than $10,000.

The fundraising target for this year's campaign is $200,000 and will culminate with a major street appeal on May 28 as part of ‘Wear a Bear’ Day.

PMH Foundation PR and Marketing manager Kellie Shewring said West Coast’s commitment to the campaign would play an important role in helping the Foundation reach its fundraising targets.

‘The PMH Foundation would like to thank everyone who donated or purchased a bear on the night. Through your generosity you have shown your support for the kids at PMH’ Kellie said.

Since 2005, the West Coast Eagles has been a proud partner of the PMH Foundation, helping to raise more than $180,000 for sick and injured kids in Western Australia. These funds have helped purchase crucial medical equipment including a patient cooling machine for the paediatric intensive care unit, an overhead warmer for the neonatal ward, a cardiac monitor for the infants ward and theming of the sensory room.