In Haiti alone, there are 490,000 orphans, tens of thousands orphaned by the recent earthquake. Living in the poorest country in the hemisphere many of the orphanages are barely habitable, much less licensed.
Mission: to provide the orphans and children of Haiti a glimpse of hope and comfort (the plush toys) in an otherwise hopeless situation.
Bears for Haiti all started with my kindergartner Noah telling us over the course of a couple of weeks how badly he felt for the kids in Haiti. He would say, “Mommy, I really wish we could do something for the kids over there, a lot of them have lost their Mommies and Daddies.” I thought, what a huge concept for a 5 year old to consider…
So we started talking as he was playing with one of his many stuffed animals. [We have two other boys so you can imagine the amount of stuffed animals we have around.] I asked Noah if he would like to send one of his animals to the kids in Haiti who have lost everything. He looked at me and said, “yes, let’s send them all!” From here birthed a huge conversation about how those kids have lost their homes, families, brothers and sisters… everything.
Our goal for Bears for Haiti is to really get the kids involved: for them to make a conscious decision to give to those less fortunate when we are beyond blessed. By giving up one of their new or gently used stuffed animals they will directly affect another child’s outlook on their situation, kids who may have lost their favorite doll or toy and have nothing to call their own. We want the children to draw or write a note and tie it to each bear so the kids will see that someone cares about them and they are not forgotten. Kids helping kids.
If you or you would like to encourage your child to send any new or gently used plush toy please send it to:
Amy Osaba c/o
Bears for Haiti
3535 Peachtree Road
Suite 520220
Atlanta, Ga. 30326