Honorary Judge, Gwen Ifill, Helps Make Final Selection
After months of careful and difficult deliberation by evaluators,
including honorary judge, Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of
“Washington Week” and senior correspondent for “The News Hour with Jim
Lehrer” on PBS, twelve young leaders from the United States and Canada
have risen through the ranks to become the 2009 Huggable Heroes®.
Build-A-Bear Workshop® received approximately 900 entries for
its sixth annual search rewarding youth for their outstanding acts of
generosity, volunteerism and leadership.
“It is wonderful and inspiring to see our young people accepting the
challenge to take charge and make a difference,” said Gwen Ifill,
honorary judge. “I was impressed by the contributions each and every one
of them is making to our world.”
This year’s class of Huggable Heroes, ranging in age from seven to 18,
is elevating the bar on giving. Collectively, these dedicated young
people have raised funds and collected items valued at $16 million and
have done all this by volunteering more than 6,000 hours of their time
throughout the year, and the numbers keep rising. The Huggable Heroes’
stories range from helping animals and combating hunger, to supporting
military troops, raising funds and awareness for medical conditions and
disabilities, and helping children, countries and communities in need.
And, for the first time in the program’s history, the 2009 class sees
its first brother and sister duo as individual winners for the same
project.
The Huggable Heroes will travel to the Build-A-Bear Workshop World
Bearquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, from July 22-24, to meet each other
and celebrate, participate in leadership opportunities and share their
stories. Each Huggable Hero will receive $10,000 USD ($7,500 USD in the
form of an educational scholarship and $2,500 USD from the Build-A-Bear
Workshop Foundation to be donated to the 501(c)(3) charity of the hero’s
choice).
“We look forward to meeting and learning from this year’s group of
Huggable Heroes,” said Maxine Clark, Build-A-Bear Workshop founder and
chief executive bear. “I believe these young people are our future
leaders. They demonstrate the kindness and compassion this world needs
to become a better place. We hope others find inspiration in their
stories and are motivated to do something positive as a result.”
2009 Huggable Heroes’ Stories
(Information also online at: www.buildabear.com/huggableheroes)
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Mimi Ausland, 12, Bend, OR
Created two Websites to help collect
donations to feed homeless dogs and cats
in animal shelters across the country.
Brittany Bergquist, 18, Norwell, MA
Co-founder with her brother of “Cell Phones
for Soldiers” which collects used cell phones
and with the funds raised from the recycling
of the phones, buys prepaid calling cards to
send to military troops.
Robbie Bergquist, 17, Norwell, MA
Co-founder with his sister of “Cell Phones
for Soldiers” which collects used cell phones
and with the funds raised from the recycling
of the phones, buys prepaid calling cards to
send to military troops.
Christine Crowe, 13, London, ON
Started “Chunity” which comes from the
words children+unity to raise funds for her
local children’s hospital, local women’s
shelters and to help the homeless.
Kendall Ciesemier, 16, Wheaton, IL
Started “Kids Caring 4 Kids” to inspire kids
to care about others in need and channels
the funds raised through the organization to
projects that help improve the lives of highly
vulnerable African children.
Cody McCasland, 7, Colleyville, TX
Raises awareness on the abilities of
individuals with
disabilities.
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Patrick Pedraja, 13, Palm Harbor, FL
Created “Driving For Donors” which aims to
increase the
number of people on the national
marrow donor list.
Kaylee Marie Radzyminski, 17, Cleveland, TN
Started “Tunes 4 the Troops” which sends
donated used and new CDs and DVDs to
military troops serving in combat zones, to bring
a little stress relief.
Bilaal Rajan, 12, Richmond Hill, ON
Founded “Hands for Help” to heighten
awareness of youth issues and raise
funds for children in need.
Jenny Silver, 12, Cherry Hill, NJ
Developed and runs an organization that raises
money to
provide teddy bears to children in
need during the holidays.
Katie Stagliano, 10, Summerville, SC
Created “Launch Katie’s Dream” to help make
sure no child
goes hungry.
Max Wallack, 12, Natick, MA
Founded PuzzlesToRemember, which
collects and distributes puzzles to help
Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.
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Huggable Heroes Program Background
In 2004, Build-A-Bear Workshop® launched the Huggable Heroes®
program, each year searching for and recognizing young people making a
difference in their communities and/or worldwide. Huggable Heroes are
young leaders who demonstrate strong levels of kindness, compassion and
leadership to help make the world a better place.
From January 16 through February 27, 2009, Build-A-Bear Workshop
accepted nominations for Huggable Heroes. Hundreds of young
leaders were nominated for their volunteer and community service
efforts. Entries were narrowed down to a field of 208 semi-finalists, 50
finalists and ultimately these twelve Huggable Heroes.
About Build-A-Bear Workshop®
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is the leading and only global company that
offers an interactive make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment
experience. Founded in 1997, the company and its franchisees currently
operate more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop® stores
worldwide, including company-owned stores in the United States, Puerto
Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, and franchise
stores in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. In 2007, the interactive
experience was enhanced - all the way to CyBEAR™ space - with
the launch of buildabearville.com®, the company’s virtual world stuffed
with fun. The company was named to the 2009 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies
to Work For® list.
Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) posted total revenue of $468 million
in fiscal 2008. For more information, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit
the company’s award-winning Web site at www.buildabear.com.
TRADEMARKS
We would like to thank you for your interest in covering our business.
As you write your story, we would ask that you use our full name: Build-A-Bear Workshop®
and that when referencing the process of making stuffed
animals you use the word “make” not “build.”
Build-A-Bear Workshop is our well-known trade name and our
registered trademark of Build-A-Bear Retail Management, Inc. Build-A-Bear Workshop®
should only be used in capital letters to refer to our products and
services and should not be used as a verb.
Blick and Staff
Wendy Bain, 314-727-5700, ext. 110
wendyb@blickandstaff.com
or
Julie
Frank, 314-727-5700, ext. 113
julief@blickandstaff.com
