Over $100,000 Raised to Help Teachers and Students Through DonorsChoose.org
ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 4, 2009--
Build-A-Bear Workshop® and the Build-A-Bear Workshop
Foundation are demonstrating their support for teachers and youth
education nationwide and inviting others to celebrate learning and the
importance of teachers in the lives of their students by designating
March, Hug-A-Teacher Month. To date, the Build-A-Bear Workshop
partnership with DonorsChoose.org, combined with a challenge fund
established by Company Founder Maxine Clark, has raised over $100,000 to
help teachers and students across the country.
The education cele-bear-ation will highlight some of the teacher
projects supported by the partnership between Build-A-Bear Workshop, the
Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation and DonorsChoose.org, which is an
organization committed to bettering the lives of children across the
nation by supporting public school teachers with funds for classroom
projects. In just four months, this partnership has provided over
$40,000 in project grants for public schools across the nation and
helped fund nearly 4,000 classroom projects.
Introducing the month of cele-bear-ation for education, Maxine Clark
said, “I was fortunate enough to have public school teachers who were
amazing role models. They inspired and encouraged me to find my passion
and follow my dreams. Great teachers are one of the reasons I am who I
am today. Making a difference in the life of a child through education
is a wonderful gift and a great way to give back to the teachers who
made a difference for me. DonorsChoose.org supports and energizes
teachers and our partnership with donorschoose.org is a great example of
the power of WE.”
Kicking off Hug-A-Teacher Month, Build-A-Bear Workshop® is
spotlighting teachers who have received “You have been bear hugged” grants
through the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation’s partnership with
DonorsChoose.org. These “hug” grants illustrate the importance of
student learning in subjects such as science, math and English.
Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose.org, commented, “Supporting
teachers is a tremendous way to create new learning opportunities for
kids in the classroom. Build-A-Bear Workshop has been a great partner
and leader by helping us get the word out about our organization and by
sharing its impact with others. In fact, since we began our partnership
in November, awareness of DonorsChoose.org has grown and Build-A-Bear
Workshop along with its virtual world, Buildabearville.com, have been
the primary drivers of new visitors to our site.”
To further support Hug-A-Teacher Month activities, Maxine Clark is
celebrating her 60th birthday this March by making a personal
fundraising commitment to education. Instead of birthday gifts, Maxine
reached out to her friends and set a goal to raise $60,000 in donations
for projects at DonorsChoose.org that support teachers and the children
in their classrooms in St. Louis and her hometown of Miami. To date,
more than $43,000 has been raised and over 10,000 students have been
reached through this effort.
The Hug-A-Teacher activities continue online at buildabearville.com®
- the Build-A-Bear Workshop virtual world. Build-A-Bearville™
Guests will notice a “Teachers are Pawsome” Banner in Bear University
and will receive a special apple chair for their virtual condo when they
click on the teacher’s desk in the virtual classroom. Additionally,
Guests can print out coloring sheets to give as a thank you to their
favorite educators. Build-A-Bear Workshop believes that supporting
educators helps students achieve their full potential and is honored to
recognize teachers who are the real heroes that shape tomorrow’s future.
Parental permission may be required for Buildabearville.com. Visit
Buildabearville.com for details.
The recently funded “You have been bear hugged” projects, which were
originally posted by teachers at DonorsChoose.org, include a grant to a
third grade teacher in San Diego that will help students learn math
skills and understand why math is important, even outside of the
classroom.
Another grant will enable a group of fourth-grade students in Chicago to
learn about weather patterns and the science behind weather. The
students will create a weather station and use it to gain hands-on
experience in how scientists hypothesize and collect data.
In Raleigh, a class of kindergarteners will use their grant to purchase
an ant farm that will introduce them to the world of bugs – and to the
observation techniques that will turn them into everyday scientists.
And in St. Louis, organic gardening is the focus of a project that will
help students learn about living things and how they grow and change.
Special grants will also be awarded to teachers in Ft. Wayne, Ind., Ft.
Worth, Texas, Seattle and Boston.
Build-A-Bear Workshop® has always had a strong commitment to
leave a pawsitive mark on the world. Throughout its 11-year history the
Company has given Guests a voice to support causes that are important,
helping children, animals and the environment, sharing the hug of a
teddy bear wherever needed in their communities and abroad, and
recognizing kids doing great things. The Company has already donated
over $20 million to these causes.
Build-A-Bearville.com and
DonorsChoose.org
Build-A-Bear Workshop partnered with DonorsChoose.org to provide
teachers with the resources to help students in need to learn and
thrive. In November 2008, Build-A-Bear Workshop began selling its first
ever Bear Bills™ game cards. Guests who purchased these $10 cards
received 10,000 virtual Bear Bills (our online currency) to spend at
Buildabearville.com and a virtual ride for their online character. In
addition, each Bear Bills game card came with a special code to use on
the DonorsChoose.org website to direct $10 per card to a classroom in
need in the United States. Guests who went to DonorsChoose.org could
select the school project of their choice to receive the $10 donation --
one dollar of which was donated by Build-A-Bear Workshop®,
and the remainder was provided by other DonorsChoose.org corporate
donors. Now through a special promotional offer, Guest may purchase a
Bear Bills game card for $5 and they still have the opportunity to make
a $10 donation to DonorsChoose.org
Maxine Clark also provides special DonorsChoose.org/Build-A-Bear
Workshop bears to every St. Louis Public School teacher who submits a
project on the Web site for the 2008-2009 school year. The partnership
with DonorsChoose.org continues throughout the year with Build-A-Bear
Workshop. To learn more about DonorsChoose.org in Build-A-Bearville.com
go to www.donorschoose.org/buildabear
or contact Kirk Smiley at kirk@donorschoose.org.
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 currently operates 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. 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 sites at www.buildabear.com
About the Build-A-Bear Workshop
Foundation
The Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization
committed to improving communities and impacting lives through unique
philanthropic programs that help children and families, animals and the
environment. The Foundation is funded primarily through the sale of
purple satin hearts ($1 each) sold in all of our stores. For more
information about the Foundation and other Build-A-Bear Workshop®
giving programs visit the Community Involvement section of the company’s
Web site at www.buildabear.com.
About DonorsChoose.org
DonorsChoose.org
is an organization committed to bettering the lives of children across
the nation by supporting public schools. This nonprofit addresses the
scarcity and inequitable distribution of learning materials and
experiences in schools by connecting individual classroom needs with
donors from across the country. Any individual can search projects by
areas of interest, learn about classroom needs, and choose to either
partially or fully fund a compelling project.
No matter their contribution size, all donors are treated to a level of
service normally reserved for established philanthropists. This includes
meaningful choice, full accountability, and portfolio services. Whether
making a contribution of $10 or $1,000, an individual can choose to
support the specific project that he or she finds most compelling and
know that their dollars were spent as directed.
Nationwide, DonorsChoose.org has enabled over $30 million in
contributions to public school classrooms, and more than 1.8 million
students have felt the impact of more than 115,000 generous individuals.
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 Workshopis 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.
Source: Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.
Jill Saunders, 314-423-8000 ext. 5293
314-422-4523
(cell)
jills@buildabear.com
or
Shannon
Lammert, 314-423-8000 ext. 5379
314-566-8841 (cell)
shannonl@buildabear.com