We had a blast this week setting up our Facebook Fan Page, Promoting it to Friends and Family, Making collection bins, contacting Build-A-Bear corporate, Primary Children's Hospital and getting the word out...
Good things ahead for ShareYourBear and XoService!
God Bless Everyone this Holiday!
*****
Dear Ms. Jill Saunders - Director of Bear Relations - Build-A-Bear Workshop,
I was given your business card at the Salt Lake City Gateway Build-A-Bear Workshop when we were there this week. The nice lady there said to contact you with our beary special request.
My 3 kids; McKinley (16), McKayla (13) and PJ (9) are HUGE fans of Build-A-Bear Workshop... so much so that over the years we have gathered quite a collection of furry friends... As our kids are getting older and they are starting to put these friends away in closets and boxes my oldest came up with an idea worthy of a little exploring... Why not give them away to kids in need.
As we discussed this as a family, we determined that we could do a bit better than that... We decided to start a foundation called 'Share Your Bear'. We have started this cause with a simple goal this holiday season to give away at least 200 new and gently hugged bears to kids in need in our community. When we put up our FaceBook fan page it became an instant hit with family and friends (feel free to Like our page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Share-Your-Bear/219375011468795). We are placing bins in our kids schools, a few local businesses, and then we were approached with another idea... Let's give a special friend to each of the kids at Primary Children's Hospital that will be there on an extended stay during the holidays. We have been in contact with the Hospital and they are excited about the possibilities for the kids and have made it clear that they will only be able to receive NEW bears to avoid any germs or dirt some of our furry friends have picked up over the years:)
So, that brings us to our next phase of collection... we started placing plastic bear collection jars around town to raise the money to make this happen! We have started filling the jars and expect to continue through the first 2 weeks of December at which time we will determine how much has been raised and how many new bears we can offer to the kids at PCH. We have had offers from many of our friends from outside of the state of Utah on FaceBook to make donations or give to the cause as well so we are in the process of setting up our 503(c)3 status to accept these donations through a website that will be online soon www.ShareYourBear.com.
Our goal is to share the stories of some of our new friends at PCH along with some photos and their special choice of bear from Build-A-Bear Workshop on our website. That's where you come in... What are the possibilities of getting an online coupon code, gift cards or other means from Build-A-Bear Workshop so that we can make as many bears as possible this holiday to ensure all of the kids that want one get one???
We aren't asking for a hand out, just a hand up in matching the money we spend at Build-A-Bear and we, in return, will promote that we are partnering with Build-A-Bear to make this happen...
PCH in SLC is just the beginning... We already have requests pouring in for next year to expand to other friends in other cities and areas with this endeavor and we'd love to build this up to a nationwide giving foundation within a few years.
Please consider our proposal and let us know if we can count on a partnership with Build-A-Bear this year and in the future...
With hugs,
Jeremy Reynolds
Share Your Bear Foundation / A XoService.org Partner
674 Country Court
North Salt Lake, Utah 84054
c. 801.540.5788
e. sunriseventures@me.com
w. ShareYourBear.com / Like Us on FB @ ShareYourBear
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