Share A Bear Story

Nina’s Share-A-Bear began as an idea to raise money to purchase stuffed bears to share with sick kids so they would have something to hug while going through their illness. This evolved into making handmade bears. With the support and help of my parents, my grandparents and other family friends (Cindy, Alice, Mary, Dawn and many more) I started Nina’s Share-A-Bear in April of 2013 when I was a freshman in high school.

For every bear that I make and sell, I make and donate a second bear (You buy a bear – I give a bear). Since 2013, I have had the privilege of donating over 2,500 bears to a variety of hospitals and organizations that work with kids.

Background:

I started my first fundraising project in September, 2011. My mom was telling me about a co-worker’s mom who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and was not covered by private insurance or Medicare. She needed money to pay for radiation treatments and surgery. This is Ms. Jeri’s story:

Ms. Jeri Williams was a 63 year old widow living on Social Security. Ms. Williams had no health insurance and was not eligible for Medicare\Medicaid. She was diagnosed with Cancer in September and underwent radiation treatments in the hopes that the tumor would shrink enough to undergo surgery. Her required medications were several hundred dollars a month. Ms. Jeri did not win her battle against cancer, but she did win the hearts of everyone she came into contact with.

Visit my ETSY store at https://www.etsy.com/shop/NinasShareABear