"Bear Hugs" was started in 2007 after a conversation I had with my two daughters, Samantha and Maggie. I was telling them about Samantha having to stay in the hospital so many times and how scary and lonely it was for her and myself. But, one of the "happy moments" that I remembered was seeing all the toys and presents around Samantha's isolette on Christmas morning....
It wasn't the "things" that were there that made me smile, it was that Samantha and all the kids were remembered at the hospital where they had to spend Christmas. Samantha was only a month old and didn't know the difference, but I sure did, and it touched my heart knowing people cared.
Samantha and Maggie thought about what I told them, what it all meant, and what we could do to bring that smile to other kids and their families during the holidays when they can't be at home celebrating like most other people.
Samantha and Maggie suggested they could donate some of their toys and stuffed animals to the kids. But I knew from experience, that those kids were pretty sick and couldn't have "used" things due to germs.
It wasn't the "things" that were there that made me smile, it was that Samantha and all the kids were remembered at the hospital where they had to spend Christmas. Samantha was only a month old and didn't know the difference, but I sure did, and it touched my heart knowing people cared.
Samantha and Maggie thought about what I told them, what it all meant, and what we could do to bring that smile to other kids and their families during the holidays when they can't be at home celebrating like most other people.
Samantha and Maggie suggested they could donate some of their toys and stuffed animals to the kids. But I knew from experience, that those kids were pretty sick and couldn't have "used" things due to germs.
We then came up with a plan to ask all of our friends and family for money donations so we could go buy Teddy Bears and even build some at build~a~bear and then bring the stuffed bears to the kids that are in the hospital during the holidays. We decided to go to build~a~bear because we could be a part of stuffing them(with our love) and we love that we give the bears their hearts and make a wish as we put the heart inside each teddy bear. We named it "BEAR HUGS" because every child could use a bear hug. What could be better than a soft teddy bear to hug when you are feeling sick? We also give each bear a homemade scarf to wear.
Our first year we collected enough money to buy 20 bears. Our goal is to be able to give every child a bear who is in the hospital during the holidays. Every year our number of bears have gone up! We have given out over 1500 bears since we started BEAR HUGS!! We gave them out at Nemours A.I.DuPont Children's hospital in Delaware and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia....(2 places where Samantha spent so much time, and currently still being followed by)
We hope we can be your charity of choice every year so we can continue to get closer to reaching our goal. We are so happy that we bring smiles to the kids and their families at a sad, tough, or lonely time. During the last few years, we realized that we bring more than just smiles to them.....we bring HOPE. The parents are able to see Samantha, Maggie and I and realize that we went through a lot of what their families are going through. They see the light at the end of a long tunnel when I tell them that Samantha only weighed 3.8 lbs, had IV's and tubes everywhere in her and wasn't able to come home even once in almost 6 months. The parents look at Samantha giving their child a teddy bear and see and feel HOPE. That is what it's all about.
We have touched many hearts; and ours have been touched as well. We will continue this every year and hope with your continued support, we can get closer to reaching our goal.
We have touched many hearts; and ours have been touched as well. We will continue this every year and hope with your continued support, we can get closer to reaching our goal.
Thank you for your support and donations to BEAR HUGS... we could not do it without you!
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