You may have heard or seen the buzz regarding a giant, anime-style teddy bear, crossing the country on foot. He goes by the name of Bearsun and he is on a charitable mission as large as the walk he has planned. In fact, he was recently spotted on US 40 in Putnam County, just before Chandler's Farm in Fillmore.

Earlier this year, Jesse Larios, a 33-year-old Californian who sells health insurance plans, walked from Los Angeles to San Francisco, dressed as Bearsun, a character of his own, just for fun. He has even completed a marathon in his teddy bear suit. As much fun as he had with the Bearsun costume, the art involved, he realized all the attention he was garnering could also benefit several charities. Thus, he began walking from Los Angeles to New York.

Bearsun is raising money for the following causes and organizations throughout his journey: DISABLED COMMUNITY (Villa Esperanza), CANCER (National Breast Cancer Foundation), MENTAL HEALTH (Active Minds), AUTISM (Autism Society for America), and ENVIRONMENTAL (Environmental Defends). He is asking that supporters either donate to the charities individually, or donating to his gofundme account, which he then disperses to the charities. You can find his gofundme account at https://gofund.me/3244f285.

Bearsun also documents his journey on social media and has a website where you can show your support and even purchase a stuffed version of Bearsun, https://iambearsun.com/. You can find his social media on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/iambearsun, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/iambearsun, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/iambearsun/, or TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@bearsun. 

He says there are times when the suit is uncomfortable, but it is well worth it to help these charitable organizations.

From Left to Right: Tristan Shamel (age 3), Draiden Shamel (age 9), Keegan Shamel (age 5), and Bearsun (Jesse Larios)