The Bear Hug Project: Give Teddy Bears To Every Sick Child In Hospital

• The Bear Hug Project is the product of a child’s promise to provide sick children with a companion as they stay in the hospital.
• As a child, Noel Schoessow was hospitalized for a year and a puppet was his source of comfort.
• For every $10 donated to the project, a bear is given to a child in the hospital during the holidays.

---

For a year, Noel Schoessow, stayed in a hospital as he recovered from a major eye surgery while he was still in fourth grade.  A puppet that his parents gave him, helped him cope through the lonely days in that hospital.  His puppet named Fido served as his companion, best friend, and source of comfort.

Noel made a promise to himself that when he grew up, he would bring comfort to other hospitalized gifts through the bears.

This became his inspiration to launch The Bear Hug Project– a non-profit that aims to provide a teddy bear for every child in the hospitals in southeastern Wisconsin during the holiday season.

And for the past holidays, he has been keeping that promise.

One pediatric patient is given a Build-A-Bear for every $10 that is donated. Even the littlest ones who stay at the NICU are given a bear, even if they cannot sleep with the special toys yet. But they sure can watch over the babies when their parents cannot be there.

And it is not just the babies that are comforted by the bears. They can also bring comfort to grieving parents and serve as a “positive memory” like Owen McCormick’s parents.

As Noel explained, “He died after 10 days. I feel like I need to do this not only for the kids but for the parents (who have children in the NICU) as well.”

The Bear Hug Project collects donations all year-round.  During the holiday season, that is when it is put to use.

One may think that it is a “lofty goal” to be able to give all the hospitalized kids a bear. But Noel and all his volunteers are working at making it happen. For as they say, “It is important to see kids in the hospital smile.”

As every child fights to heal, may they have a loving companion from The Bear Hug Project to help them see the battle through.

Source: Inspire More