5 Reasons to Participate in Bears4Children’s 2020

This year has brought a lot of uncertainties and craziness. We are very thankful that Bears4Children’s 2020 is still able to happen, although it will be looking quite a bit different for the safety of everyone participating.

Here are FIVE reasons you should make the decision to participate in Bears4Children’s this year!

ONE: You’ll be joining along with your community to ‘pay it forward’ and brighten a child’s day! Each stuffed animal donation is given to a patient to love and cuddle while they’re in the hospital.

TWO: Not only does the child feel loved, their family also feels appreciated. Spending the holidays in a hospital adds a whole new level of stress to the season, so an unexpected gift really goes a long way.

THREE: You can demonstrate a giving spirit to your own children! Helping to carefully and thoughtfully pick out an animal to stuff, name, and even dress, just to give to someone they don’t even know, can teach the importance and the joy in giving back.

FOUR: Hospitals haven’t been receiving their normal donations for patients as they have in previous years. With all that’s happened in 2020, this is an incredible opportunity to be a part of something great and give generously to a noble cause!

FIVE: There are several ways to participate, including socially distant options. Please follow our new guidelines below to safely help us reach our goal of giving 600 stuffed animals to Dayton Children’s Hospital patients!

In-Person Donations:
Join us virtually between Thanksgiving and December 22nd at Build-A-Bear at the Mall at Fairfield Commons. Go in any day during store hours to stuff your bear and then leave it with the store for the Hess Family to pick up and take to Dayton Children’s with the rest of the donations! Please sign and/or write a message on one of the non-denominational cards that will be available at checkout. These will be put with your bear to let the patient and their family know where their gift came from!

You may go in groups to stuff your bears, but please make sure to follow any of the store policies in order to keep everyone safe and comfortable! Make sure to wear your mask and social distance from other groups in the store!

When you go to donate this year, please snap a photo and post it on social media using the hashtag “#bears4childrens” and/or tag the Bears4Childrens profile!

Online/No Contact Build-A-Bear Donation:
We are excited to have a an option to donate stuffed animals that does not require you to leave your home! Just purchase your stuffed animal(s) on www.buildabear.com/ and follow these steps:
1. ​When you get to check out, log in like normal or continue as a guest.
2. Under “Delivery” choose the “Pick Up” option, and then “Pick Up in Store” and choose The Mall At Fairfield Commons as the store. (please note that not all online products will be available for in-store pick up)
3. Still under “Delivery”, please list [email protected] as the email, “Bears4Children’s” in the First Name section, and your first and last name or family name in the Last Name section. After that, you may list your number or ours (937-971-8051).
4. After this, you will proceed to check out like normal.

Listing our email and organization name will allow us to keep track of what we need to pick up, and will let store employees know that the order is apart of the Bears4Children’s donations. Listing your name/family name will allow us to know who to thank and sign a card from that will go with the stuffed animal.

*After you order online, share that you donated on social media while using the hashtag “#bears4childrens” and/or tag the Bears4Children’s profile!

Sponsoring via Cash, Checks, Venmo, and Gift Cards:
You or a group may SPONSOR a bear by donating Build-A-Bear gift cards, and other forms of monetary donations (cash, checks, etc). Contact us via email, phone, or social media to donate this way!

Donating Cards:
We are always in need of non-denominational “holiday” or “seasons greetings” cards that will be signed by donors and put with each stuffed animal! Contact us if you are interested in donating cards.

 

For more information, visit our website here, or follow us on social media!

Instagram: @bears4childrens         Facebook: Bears4Children’s

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