GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- A 12-year-old's teddy bear drive for children in Haiti is getting some big results.

The Grand Rapids Press reports Blare Gooch asked classmates at St. Thomas the Apostle School three weeks ago to help him collect 2,000 teddy bears.

More than 7,000 new or gently used bears already have been received at Blare's school and his mother's salon, Hair Force 1. Another 2,000 bears have been collected by radio stations WTNR and WFBE.

The effort is called Blare's Bears for Haiti. It was put together following the catastrophic earthquake that hit the country Jan. 12. Blare has boosted his goal to 20,000 bears before the drive ends March 15.

There are 150 bear drop-off sites statewide.