Every 20 minutes, a baby is born stillborn in the U.S. This means that each year, 26,000 moms and dads leave the hospital with empty arms and broken hearts.
The time they have to hold their babies is fleeting, if it happens at all. Many mothers who lose their babies often report a physical ache in their arms in the days following their loss because the pain of losing their children is so intense.
A friend of mine named Bridget lost her baby, Molly, in May 2010. While in the hospital, Bridget received a bear from a friend. The bear weighed 3 lbs, close to Molly's weight of 4 lbs, 9 oz. but not exact. Knowing she needed a bear that was Molly's exact weight, Bridget bought a bear shell when she came home and weighted it to 4 lbs, 9 oz. She and her family are now able to always remember what it felt like to hold Molly when she was born.
Realizing what a comfort and treasure this was to her, Bridget began giving bears to other moms who had lost babies. At that is how Molly Bears was born. Molly Bears will send any family a weighted bear, free of charge. Bridget personally weights and customizes each bear but she is dependent upon donations in order to send out bears to families.
Bridget founded Molly Bears in August 2010 and already has a wait list of more than 350 families and it grows daily.
Here is a video of Bridget telling her story on the local San Diego news:
I am running the Seattle Half Marathon on Nov. 28th to raise money for Molly Bears. My goal is to raise $5,000. Bridget's cost to buy, weight and send a Molly Bear is $25 (within the U.S. - she also has many international requests). I'd like to raise $5,000 so that she may be able to send 200 bears.
Please help me raise $5,000 by Nov. 28. Any amount you can donate will be appreciated. If you donate $25, you'll be sending a bear to one family, $50 you will be sending a bear to two families, $100 and you are bringing comfort to four families.
For each bear that we help purchase, Bridget will enclose a note so that the family will know it was donated in Reese's honor.
To donate, please visit MollyBears.com and click on "Donate" or click here to go directly to the donation link. Please note in the "Special Instruction To Buyer" section that you are donating in honor of Reese Lowell.
If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by sending it here:
Bridget Crews
P.O. Box 421232
San Diego, CA 92142
Thanks in advance!
(Note: She currently is only able to accept online donations via Pay Pal but it is easy to set up an account! Click here to get more information on setting up a free Pay Pal account.)
Posts
