Huggable Build-A-Bear teddies spreading the word on WellChild’s work for families

Thousands of cute teddy bears will be winging their way to seriously ill children all across the UK this month thanks to a partnership between WellChild and Build-A-Bear. The special bears will come with a message inviting the children’s families to join the WellChild Family Tree support Group.

The WellChild Family Tree is a growing network of families from across the UK, all of whom have children with exceptional health needs. It enables parents to feel included, supported and listened to. The WellChild Family Tree is free to join and connects families caring for children with exceptional health needs across the UK through online and face to face groups.

WellChild has been selected as Build-A-Bear’s UK Charity this Christmas season and every time someone buys a £20 gift card from 3rd – 15th December, Build-A-Bear Workshop will donate a bear to one of the children WellChild works with throughout the country. The aim is to distribute as many as 5,500 bears. Customers can also add a donation to all their Build-A-Bear purchases in stores and online which will come to WellChild to support the charity’s work with seriously ill children and their families across the UK. This year is the first of the partnership between WellChild and Build-A-Bear with plans for the future already underway.

WellChild Chief Executive Colin Dyer said: “Thanks to the support of Build-A-Bear we have a fantastic opportunity to let families of seriously ill children know about the great support they can get from WellChild’s Family Tree network. Being the parent and carer for a seriously ill child can be a very lonely thing and having support from families who are going through the same things you are can be tremendously valuable.”