| BEARTWEEN THE LINES | |
Dear Friends,
December 2010
news flash!!!! You may have already noticed, but if you haven't, we are making some exciting changes. We are renaming our programs and services to better brand our organization and the wonderful programs and services we provide.
From now on, when you read about a BEAR HUG (formerly Small Miracle) it will be referring to a wonderful experience directly benefitting a pediatric cancer patient or financial support for the child's family. In reading about BEAR DISCOVERIES (formerly Research Funding) you will hear of the critical research we fund across the United States and programs that have moved to other countries through our Bear Discoveries Research Symposium. BEAR EMPOWERMENT programs (formerly Information and Support Service Funding) will continue to meet the needs of support services in other pediatric cancer organizations and institutions across the United States.
Coming soon!! The opportunity to start a BEAR HUG chapter in your city! Applications will be posted on our website in the near future. Looking forward to working with many of you to make larger impacts in the lives of these courageous and innocent children who are battling pediatric cancer.
May your holidays be blessed with good health, family and friends. I ask you to remember these children and their families in your holiday giving and your prayers.
Kindest regards,
Kathleen
|
| BEAR HUG NEEDS | | |
1. Bulls Tickets for Jaylen, 16
2. Linkin Park Concert Tickets (Jan. 26th) for Andrew, 15
3. Nutcracker Ballet Tickets for Kilian, 14
4. 6 Wicked tickets during the holidays for Vanessa, 4
5. Grocery Cards (Jewel or Dominick's), Gas Cards (BP or Shell)
If you are interested in helping fulfill a child's Bear Hug by purchasing items, helping fund a special experience or making a designated donation to this program, please EMAIL or call NelliRose at 312.214.1200 x25. All donations will receive proper acknowledgement for tax purposes. |
| HOLIDAY SHOPPING | |
This holiday season let Bear Necessities help with gift ideas and give a gift that gives back at the same time!
to check out our online store featuring the soft and cuddly "Barrett" Bear and other great Wear the Bear merchandise
ShopForGood.net
On December 8, 2010, Build-A-Bear Workshop.com is the featured retailer on ShopForGood.net. That day, and SFG will donate 9% of net purchases made from our "Today's Special" Build-A-Bear Workshop.com banner to Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation. CLICK HERE for more details.
Vineyard Vines
Vineyard Vines put together a special holiday promotion to help raise money for Bear Necessities again this holiday season. Use the code BN10 to get 20% off online and 10% back to Bear Necessities from now through Tuesday 12/07/10!
See coupon below!
Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort
For every $250 gift card purchased at Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort, a portion of proceeds will be donated to Bear Necessities! CLICK HERE for details. Racconto Gift Baskets Give a gift basket from Racconto, importers of fine Italian food & wine. As proceeds benefit Bear Necessities, it's the gift that keeps on giving! Click here to view the current selection of impeccable baskets large and small. CLICK HERE for details. |
| TEAM BEAR 2011 | | |
Planning your New Year's Resolutions now and thinking about running the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon? Next year's race is expected to sell out fast! Don't miss your chance to pound 26.1 miles of pavement with Team Bear! Contact Karen Roark at 312/214-1200 ext 29 to learn how you can join Team Bear today and "take the challenge" to help kids with cancer. |
| ESSAY CONTEST | | |
Bear's Pawsome Computer Contest
Sponsored by Coupon Cabin
Contest for pediatric cancer patients across Chicago for a chance to win a laptop computer! CLICK HERE for contest details and CLICK HERE for an application.
|
| CELEBRATED CHEFS | | 
Take part in a delicious opportunity to support Bear Necessities!
Become a member of Celebrated Chefs today and any time you dine at any participating Celebrated Chefs restaurant, 5% of your bill will be donated to our cause! Enrollment is free and includes a fabulous complimentary cookbook!
Sign up by clicking the enroll
button below.
|
| GOLD PROMISE | | 
Cash America International, Inc. has begun operations of, a mail-in gold and jewelry buying business. For each package of gold or jewelry items consumers send to Gold Promise, the company will make a $1 donation to Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Sell your gold risk free today! |
| JOIN OUR LIST |
 |
|
|
| FEATURED BEAR HUG | | |
AMELIE 
Amelie loves riding her bike and scooter outside, playing Wii and playing with her American Girl Doll, but even at the young age of 6, she knew exactly what she wanted for her Bear Hug. Her Bear Hug request was to learn how to play the violin!
Our very special BN volunteer, Linda Matthews, was able to connect with Susan Cook at the Sherwood Community Music School at Columbia College and worked to create a very special Bear Hug for Amelie.
Ms. Cook generously donated a violin for Amelie to learn with as well as provided one year of violin lessons!!! Amelie's instructor, Emilia began working with Amelie in September each week for a half hour and has told Mom and Dad that she is a natural! Amelie will be performing in her first on-stage recital on December 8th!
 A very special thank you to Linda Matthews for all her hard work in making Amelie's Bear Hug possible, Susan Cook for her incredible generosity and Emilia, Amelie's instructor, for the time she takes each week to bring a smile to Amelie's face!
|
| BEAR NECESSITIES' 2011 BEAR TIE BALL | |
SAVE THE DATE! TROPICURE: A TROPICAL TOUR TO FIND A CURE
 We're heating things up in the Great Hall of Chicago's Union Station and taking you on a tropical island adventure with dining, dancing and sizzling interactive auctions including new iTouch bidding.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2011
FROM 6 PM - MIDNIGHT
To reserve tickets, purchase a table, request raffle tickets or learn more, call 312.214.1200 x29 or visit www.bearnecessities.org
|
| STAY CLASSY AWARDS | |
THANKS FOR VOTING, CHICAGO 
As you may know, Bear Necessities was nominated for the NBC Stay Classy Awards and won Most Innovative Use of Social Media for Chicago. We then moved onto the national awards, attended the awards ceremony in San Diego, but didn't snag first place. Thanks again to all who took the time to vote, it was definitely some great exposure for Bear Necessities!
CLICK HERE to see the interview with Kathleen and Courtney at the awards ceremony. |
| SYMPOSIUM | |
5TH ANNUAL BEAR DISCOVERIES SYMPOSIUM
Continuing the past success, the fifth annual "Bear Discoveries" Research Symposium was held on November 19, 2010 in the Gwen and Jules Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery at the University of Chicago. Ten Senior Graduate students from institutions across the country came to Chicago to present their current research in the field of cancer biology and epigenomics. Closing the day of amazing presentations, Michelle Le Beau, PhD, Director, University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center and Professor, Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Medical Center, delivered the keynote address. Following was a reception where Bear Necessities awarded a $20,000 grant to Don Schaffer of Baylor College of Medicine and to Rhonda Perciavalle of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
 | | Don Shaffer, Dr.John Cunningham, Kathleen Casey and Rhonda Perciavalle |
|
| SPECIAL THANKS | | |
Bear Necessities would like to extend a special "thank you" to the very generous members of our community who have hosted third party fundraisers on our behalf. Among some of the truly incredible events held this fall (that raised over $25,000) were:
LANA JEWELRY AND HUNNY BOUTIQUE FUNDRAISER
On October 20th, the impeccable talent and taste of Lana Unlimited Co. and Hunny Boutique were showcased for a night of high fashion for a great cause. We are truly grateful for the incredible commitment this group has shown year after year to helping the brave children Bear Necessities' programs serve! We send our heartfelt thank you to Hunny Boutigue, Lana Unlimited Co., Charyl Witz, Cherie Jones, Nina Mariano, Tiffany Marshall, Tracy Scurto (pictured below) for organizing a fabulous fundraiser!
STONEBRIDGE FASHION SHOW
It was a blast to past and "the fabulous fifties" at this year's annual luncheon and fashion show at the Stonebridge Country Club. Organized by a group of incredible allies in this fight against pediatric cancer, the event featured an adorable parade of junior models, an enormous silent auction, and terrific raffle prizes. Our sincere thanks to the event's organizers, Kristen Salerno, Karen Finnerty and Arlene Lannon, sponsors, and guests for their steadfast support over the past decade!
CLICK TO CURE
Now in its third year, Click to Cure is a truly special fundraiser organized by Dennis Lee Photography. In exchange for donations to Bear Necessities, Dennis and his team took holiday portraits in his studio in River North studio. Eight hours and dozens of portraits later, Click to Cure had raised critical funds to drive Bear Necessities forward in our mission! Thanks for this incredible contribution.
CRIBS TO COLLEGE BEDROOMS
On November 6th, the generous owners of Cribs to College Bedrooms, the largest baby & children's furniture showroom in the Midwest, opened their doors for an evening of music, food, and entertainment to benefit Bear Necessities. Thank you all for your immense kindness!
CHARITY HOCKEY GAME
Since 2001, The Northwest Guns and Hoses (a group of Police and Firemen from the Northwest Suburbs) have organized and played an annual Police vs. Fire hockey game to benefit charity in cooperation with the Chicago Steel. For 2010, the group chose Bear Necessities as the beneficiary of their event and rallied behind our cause!
Plan your own Third Party Fundraising Event this holiday season to benefit Bear Necessities! Contact Special Events Manager, Karen Roark, at 312.214.1200 ext 29 or kroark@bearnecessities.org to learn more. |
| SPORTS FANS CHOICE AWARDS | | |
The 24th Annual Sports Fans Choice Awards was held on November 29th at Caf� LaCave in Des Plaines, IL. Many of Chicago's professional athletes gathered to honor our city's most outstanding athletes on and off the court, field or ice! The VIP night was complete with a Red Carpet Show, dinner, program and meet & greets for our very special guest, Carter and his family. Carter met DJ Moore, Danieal Manning and Kellen Davis of the Chicago Bears and Marty Turco of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Thank you to SPPS Sports for continuing to help raise awareness and funds for the children and families we serve!
 | | Chicago Bears DJ Moore and Danieal Manning with Lacklan, Carter and Jordan |
|
| UIC ANNUAL THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON | | |
A SPECIAL THANKSGIVING FOR 60 PATIENTS
On Saturday, November 21st, UIC held its 7th Annual Festival of Thanksgiving for approximately 60 pediatric oncology patients and their families. The room was filled with fabulous volunteers providing 'creative entertainment' for the patients and their families. Bear Necessities' table was filled with children creating tiles, ornaments and t-shirts throughout the day. Many BN Bear Hug receipients were there to share their story and meet our BN volunteers. A special thank you to Lucy, Lauren, Jennifer and Lindsay for creating such a wonderful event and making sure Bear Necessities was part of it!
A very special thank you to our wonderful BN volunteers Jenny Rojas and Jamie Lyn Parungao. |
| CALENDAR OF EVENTS | |
Saturday, January 29: Auxiliary Board's Signature Event
River East Art Center | Chicago, IL | Details TBA
Saturday, February 26: Bear Tie Ball
Chicago's Union Station | 6:00 PM - MIDNIGHT | Union Station. Email Karen or call 312.214.1200 x29 to reserve your tickets today. |
|
|
|
|
