The Joe Joe Bear Foundation, a non profit devoted to providing teddy bears to children with life threatening illnesses to reduce their anxiety and stress while they are in the hospital, has gifted over 46,000 teddy bears since its founding in 2009.
The foundation is based in Katy, Texas and provides teddy bears to children in hospitals and medical centers throughout the state. The non profit is 100% volunteer operated, and purchases 5,500 teddy bears every year to provide to critically ill children. On a monthly basis the non profit provides up to 300 to 400 teddy bears to hospitals and medical centers in the areas they serve. The non-profit has to maintain a steady supply of teddy bears to keep up with the demand, which they are devoted to supplying.
The Joe Joe Bear Foundation was founded by Jeanette Maurer following the death of her Godson Joseph David Ordaz who passed away due to acute lymphocytic leukemia at the age of 24-years-old. While Ordaz was in the hospital receiving treatment he was placed in the pediatric ward where he would constantly hear children crying. Maurer was unable to stay with Ordaz for the whole day, so he asked her if she would bring him a teddy bear, so he could feel as if she was with him through every moment during his time in the hospital. When she gave Ordaz his teddy bear it was outfitted with a shirt that said Joe Joe Bear.
Upon Ordaz’s passing, Maurer was speaking with her daughter who suggested they start a nonprofit in Joe Ordaz’s honor. The idea to donate teddy bears to children with life threatening illnesses came from a time when Ordaz was in the pediatric ward and told Maurer, “I wish I could help comfort the sick children.”
In addition to donating teddy bears to sick children, The Joe Joe Bear Foundation provides the parents and families of the children they donate to with educational resources. The mission to provide families with educational resources came after the foundation conducted extensive research and interviews with families and found they all needed better access to more resources. The non-profit partnered with a hospital in Texas and was given documents with information pertaining to cancer and other serious illnesses, how to find information on a specific illness, financial assistance and housing near hospitals.
The Joe Joe Bear Foundation continues to try and expand their services to more hospitals and medical centers throughout Texas and the United States.
“It’s been an honor to provide children who are going through such difficult times and struggling with life threatening illnesses with the teddy bears,” says Maurer. “We want to grow the foundation to be something that can help children nationwide and give them some comfort when they are in the hospital and have to be away from their families. The great thing about the teddy bears is they can be taken into surgery or almost anywhere in the hospital with the children.”
Media Contact:
Name: Jeanette Maurer
Email: [email protected]
