My name is Katie and I am the lucky girl who Maxine credits as the inspiration for Build-A-Bear Workshop®. This is a credit that Maxine generously bestowed upon me, though I feel it is equally correct to say that I was merely a young girl who was willing to share my definite point of view on teddy bears and other furry friends!
Tag Archives: friends count
First Day of School
By Caitlin Noblitt, Social Media Intern
How do you make your child’s first day of school beary special? What if they are going to a new school? Share your tips!
Building the Right Friendships & Finding the Right Doctor
Champerina meets Dr. Teddy
In honor of Friendship Day today, Aug. 5, we wanted to share another special story about Quinnlin and her beary special friend Champerina.
When Quinnlin turned three she visited the dentist, like most kids. Nearly seven years later she still sees the very special Dr. Theodore Levitas or “Dr. Teddy”, as nearly everyone calls him. Dr. Teddy specializes in dentistry for kids with special needs.
On a recent appointment Quinnlin knew bringing Champerina with her to see Dr. Teddy would be fine because Dr. Teddy has hundreds of teddy bears himself. Quinnlin arrived with Champerina, proudly telling him, “This is my bear and I knew you would like her because you are Dr. Teddy and I know you like all kinds of bears!” Having Champerina come with her helps because going to the dentist can be kind of scary. It helped that this dentist had an entire conversation to and about Champerina and that make Quinnlin relax even more.
Send a Smile with Red Stamp
By Caitlin Noblitt, Social Media Intern
Today is your best friend’s birthday and you’re scrambling to the nearest store to get her a card full of well wishes just in time for the celebration. You scour through the endless rows of cards and quickly pick one that seems to be about right. You hand over five dollars for a card you hope she will like.
We have Huggable Heroes in our midst!
Molly Saunders – Digital Bear
For the nine years Build-A-Bear Workshop has honored amazing young people doing incredible work in our worldwide community. Through the years more than 100 kids have been named official Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Heroes. These heroes have collectively raised millions of dollars and have donated thousands of hours of community service to help make our world a better place.
This year we are celebrating 15 youth from the United States and Canada for making an amazing difFURence! They have raised nearly $1.4 million to support worthy causes such as homelessness and poverty, bullying, literacy, health issues and recycling. Below are some photos from the service art project our Huggable Heroes created in Memphis, Tenn. at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Meet Brandon , Father of 6
Brandon has been a bear for nearly 13 years, and he is also a father to 6 boys ranging in age from 5 – 17 years old! His kids help him keep Build-A-Bear Workshop the MOST fun place! When Brandon came to World Bearquarters, he worked on getting new stores up and running. He was an important part of the IT team and eventually began working more with our online and interactive projects, like Bearville.com™. You better believe his boys have helped him test games to make sure we offer pawsome stuff for kids of all ages!
Brandon’s crew has also helped test the Build-A-Bear App. With a Dad in IT, his kids love all things techie. He became a bear when his oldest son was just 4 years old and it’s hard for his family to imagine life without BABW! It’s normal for his sons to hang out with him in the engineering lab at BQ or to help him cut foam board to make mock fixtures. They love trying out new gadgets and gizmos for us! Recently, Brandon’s kids have helped with our new digital sound station for Hear Me. The digital sound station has a touchscreen that allows Guests to choose from tons of songs and sounds, including ones that have been approved by Brandon’s boys. At Build-A-Bear Workshop, we love to hear from real kids. They help us to evolve and remain innovative.
Besides helping their dad, ALL of his kids have celebrated at least one birthday with a Build-A-Party!
Brandon E., Director Virtual World & Interactive Opbearations
Jonah, 17; Ethan, 13; Isaac, 12; Carson, 10; Kyle, 7; and Caleb, 5.
Champerina: counting more than friendships
One day Quinnlin’s mom added up how many specialists she and her brother have seen as a result of their multiple special needs. It might surprise you to know that they have seen…
- 7 pediatric nephrologists, 2 hepatologists, 10 pediatricians, several physician assistants and 6 surgeons
- 20 speech, physical, occupational and vision therapists
- 1 orthopedist
- 1 urologist
- 100 nurses (at least), lab technicians and nurse assistants
- 1 child life specialist, 1 nutritionist
- 8 transplant nurses/coordinators
- 2 psychiatrists, 2 play therapists
- 2 dermatologists
- 1 insurance policy, 2 secondary insurance policies and 5 case managers
- 5 pharmacies
- 2 social workers
RSVP for our reunion!
We’re all about celebrations here at Build-A-Bear Workshop. This year we’re celebrating over 100 million furry friends made and we want to reunite with all our friends! This coming weekend, May 24-27, at all our stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, we’re having a Friends Reunion. If you RSVP to the event and bring your furry friend you’ll get an exclusive Friends Count Tiny Tee for your friend. Remember to RSVP for each person you will be bringing, and don’t forget to bring your furry friend. We can’t wait to see you there!
If you’re a Fan on our Facebook page or if you follow us on Twitter, be sure to share your reunion pics with us!
Champ’s Around the World Adventure…begins in Canada!
We’re featuring Champ (not to be confused with Champerina), the famous Build-A-Bear Workshop bear who was created specifically to highlight children’s health and wellness for the Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation. Champ was born from the inspiration of a family’s love for a daughter and the daughter’s idea to fund research. Read about Nikki, who lost her battle with cancer but whose legacy lives on in Champ. A dollar from every Champ bear sold goes directly to help fund grants to children’s related approved grant applicants.
Why is that important to know?
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Subscribe to this blog!- SpongeBob SquarePants Exclusive Interview! 14 MayIt’s SpongeBob time! The wait is over! We got tons of fabulous questions for SpongeBob SquarePants and we’re thrilled to share the answers to some of them below. And starting May 17, you can make your own SpongeBob at a Build-A-Bear Workshop store near you or order online. Thanks so much! Enjoy! Question #1: How […]
- Meet Debby and Sarah 2 MayAt Build-A-Bear Workshop, we know families are beary important! Debby and her daughter, Sarah, both work at World Bearquarters in St. Louis. Debby has been a bear for 12 years. When Sarah was younger, she came to work with her mom to help out. Sarah had lots of fun working with her mom and enjoyed […]
- Teacher Appreciation Day printable ‘Thank you’ cards 26 AprDo you remember your favorite teacher? Why did you love them so much? Maybe you are really lucky and you have more than one favorite. I have one favorite teacher. I first met her as my 4th grade teacher, when half of my class was in 4th grade and the other half was in 5th […]
- 3 Ways to Play with your MY LITTLE PONY friends! 1 AprWe all know friends are pawsome. They make us feel good. They make us laugh. They bring out the best in us and, perhaps most importantly, they are always there for us. This is why we’re beary excited to bring you brand new furry friends from MY LITTLE PONY, RAINBOW DASH and PINKIE PIE! (Available […]
- How to make a decoupage egg 6 Marby Molly Saunders, Digital (Crafty) Bear Since I was little, I’ve been making and decorating blown out eggs for Easter. Because these are such a beautiful keepsake, I wanted to share the simple how-to’s with you. Then, you and your family can start a tradition or just be the coolest chick on the block with […]
- SpongeBob SquarePants Exclusive Interview! 14 May
