Thank you to KPRC 2 for your support during our BEAR Back-to-School Drive!
For those who want to contribute, there are three ways to do so:
Host a drive to collect new supplies.
Shop BEAR’s amazon list. These items will ship directly to BEAR.
Make a financial donation to BEAR to help with the purchase of supplies.
We are accepting school supplies until mid-September! We appreciate the support of the community and local media for helping many local kids in need start this school year with the supplies they need.
Wow, Houston! A big BEAR hug THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the Shop for a Cause event at our 5 Houston mall locations on July 22nd!
Your generosity has been overwhelming! We received an outpouring of donations, from clothes, hygiene items, shoes, blankets, diapers, diaper creams, pacifiers, and much more! We’re also incredibly grateful for the monetary contributions. Your support not only helps to meet the needs of the beautiful children we serve every day but also allows us to spread awareness about the work we do at BEAR.
Thank you to our mall partners with Brookfield Properties, including Baybrook, Deerbrook, First Colony, Willowbrook, and The Woodlands malls, who helped make this event a huge success! Your unwavering commitment and support continue to keep our mission alive.
The best part? Your donations will help BEAR’s resource rooms, which serve at-risk kids in our area. So, in essence, you’ve made a real, tangible difference in these kids’ lives. Let’s keep the momentum going.
CLICK HERE to learn more about how you can continue to support BEAR Necessities.
We were delighted to spend a memorable evening at the Wortham Theater with the renowned Kathy Taylor, one of the world’s top gospel singers. This was not just a concert, but a celebration of adoption and the unique love and diversity within our community.
Kathy Taylor, who has performed for Queen Elizabeth II and former President Bill Clinton, extends her talents beyond her extraordinary gospel music. But perhaps her most profound impact has been as a mother, adopting her daughters, one of whom is autistic. This concert became a stage for Kathy to share her journey, inspiring the audience with the commitment to providing a loving home to children in need.
BEAR was delighted to participate in this event with a table to share insights about adoption and our Heart Gallery display, which showcased wonderful children awaiting adoption in the greater Houston area. We extend our deepest thanks to everyone who joined us. Your interest and compassion have the potential to change lives of at-risk and CPS-involved children, ensuring every child experiences the comfort and love of a family.
Whether you’re interested in adoption, or just providing support, remember, you can BE A Resource. Learn more about our programs HERE.
What an amazing day it turned out to be! Our annual Clays for Kids event, held May 23, 2023, exceeded all expectations, with friends, old and new, joining together to support at-risk and CPS-involved children in the greater Houston area.
Our heartfelt gratitude to NextEra Energy, our Presenting Sponsor, whose support played a key role in the success of the event. Our taste buds are still singing praises of the delicious dinner provided by the soon-to-open Dolce Niente Italiano. Their salad, pasta, fresh pizzas, and desserts were nothing short of exquisite. Thanks to Chef Bob, Ben E Keith, Performance Food Group, and Chef’s Warehouse for their generous donations to make this meal a reality.
Music is the soul of every event and a last-minute cancellation could have left us in a lurch. However, country singer Aaron Kantor came to our rescue, driving in from Conroe to grace our event with his captivating melodies.
Our Shooter Team Gifts, donated by The J Company and beautifully customized by Tailormade Tumblers, were a hit! Kudos to Primary Arms for sponsoring the hats, again monogrammed by Tailormade Tumblers.
The raffle and silent auction were buzzing with excitement thanks to the fabulous contributions from IW Marks Jewelers, Berg Hospitality Group, BR549 Woodworking, Grein Family, Primary Arms, and Lonestar Defense and Arms.
But the event’s success wasn’t just about the delicious food, toe-tapping music, or the delightful gifts. It was primarily about the tremendous support of our teams and sponsors. Our Platinum Level team Dutch Phillips, Silver Sponsor W Industries, Spirit Sponsor KSP Properties, Golf Cart Sponsor Baker Wealth, Raffle Sponsor Mike and Betsy Mercer, Snack Sponsor Mohtashami Family, Station Sponsor Monica Jones, Course Sponsors Laura Lee Vaio and Jeff Steen, Gift Sponsor Primary Arms, Trophy Sponsor The J Company, and Dinner Sponsor Dolce Niente Italiano deserve a special mention.
Our fantastic teams, including Maverick PMC, Zurich, First Community Cares Foundation, Champion X, AMPD Engineering, I&E Technologies, TIGA, Custom Drapery, AON, Axios, Axa, Jeff Steen Interests, Dead Eye Divas, Carlos De Ayala, Allison Edwards, and Chris Hetmaniak & Triple Threat, not forgetting Steve Sandweiss, we couldn’t have done it without you!
We are incredibly grateful for this memorable event and the significant impact it has on the lives of at-risk children in our community. Here’s to looking forward to Clays for Kids 2024!
National Foster Care Month, observed each May, is a time to honor and appreciate the amazing foster parents, family members, volunteers, and community members who support children and youth in foster care. But guess what? The work doesn’t end when the month is over! There’s still so much we can do to help children, and that’s where you come in.
Recently, Rebecca Moran, Community Outreach Coordinator for BEAR, appeared on CW39 with the fantastic host Sharron Melton to talk about how Houstonians can get involved.
“We really try to focus on bringing awareness and celebrating foster parents and families who step up for these amazing children, including the community volunteers. Through BEAR, we provide emergency resources year-round to at-risk and CPS-involved children through four of our key programs, our largest being BEAR Necessities. That program is all about providing the necessities, including clothing, shoes, pajamas, diapers, anything that a child is going to need to survive and thrive within 24-48 hours,” said Rebecca.
Child Protective Services in the greater Houston area is facing an increasing number of children under their care. At any given moment, there are about 16,000 children involved in CPS-related cases, and sadly, over 1,000 of them have been removed from their homes due to emergency situations. It’s a heartbreaking reality, but we are on a mission to make a difference and ensure these vulnerable children receive the support they need. Thank you to each of you who volunteer, donate and participate with BEAR!
CLICK HERE to learn how to get more involved in our BEAR Necessities program.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect and promote the safety and well-being of children. At BEAR, we work tirelessly to provide hope and help for at-risk and CPS-involved children and the caseworkers who protect them. Our programs are designed to help children in need and create a better future for them.
One of our newest programs is Heart Gallery Houston, a powerful, traveling photographic exhibit that showcases children in foster care who are waiting to find their forever families. With more than 32,000 children are in foster care in the state of Texas, The Heart Gallery provides a unique opportunity to bring awareness to the issue of child abuse and neglect and help these children find a safe and loving home.
Heart Gallery Houston is a collection of beautiful portraits of children in foster care taken by volunteer professional photographers. These portraits capture the essence of each child’s personality, showcasing their individuality and spirit. The exhibit is designed to help people see beyond the stigma of foster care and understand that these children are just like any other child, with dreams and hopes for a bright future.
Since its inception in October 2021, BEAR’s Heart Gallery Houston program has helped more than 40 children find their forever homes. The exhibit has traveled to various locations across the Houston area, including museums, shopping malls, and libraries, bringing attention to the needs of children in foster care and helping to break down the barriers that prevent them from finding permanent homes.
However, this is just one piece of the puzzle. Preventing child abuse and neglect requires a community effort, and we all have a role to play in creating a safe and nurturing environment for children. During Child Abuse Prevention Month, and all year long, we encourage everyone to take action to help children in need. You can get involved by volunteering, donating, or advocating for policies that protect children and support families in crisis.
At BEAR, we believe that every child deserves a safe and loving home, and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Join us in our mission to create a brighter future for children in need. Together, we can make a difference.
It’s official! Our numbers for children served this holiday season are in! BEAR friends, we are SO excited to share with you that this holiday season, we served 23,044 children during our BEARing Gifts program, and this was all made possible because of Y-O-U! Thanks to individual donors, volunteers, and community partners, we were able to provide holiday cheer to thousands of children! Whether you donated 100 toys or 1 toy, it all truly makes a difference! You made a child smile during the holiday season, and for that, we cannot thank you enough!
Did you know that for the last 25 years, BEAR has been an important advocate for the most vulnerable population in the greater Houston area…its children! Help us start the new year right by keeping our BEAR Rooms stocked year-round, no matter the time of day, year, or season with the basic necessities needed to meet the immediate needs of children.
Each month, our BEAR Rooms provide approximately 3,000 at-risk and CPS-involved children with essential items. Items include NEW clothing, shoes, diapers, car seats, air mattresses, and much more. Click below to see all the ways you can get involved this year!
Our Heart Gallery has made its way to First Colony Mall!
If you are in the area, please be sure to stop by to see this beautiful exhibit and learn more about these incredible children who are waiting in foster care to find their forever families through adoption.
After our incredible volunteer photographers capture the heart of these amazing children, the portraits they help create are then displayed at various locations throughout the city! We invite you to join us at current and future exhibits, and to share this information with others!
See the exhibit at First Colony Mall near the entrance to the food court by Dick’s Sporting Goods. Thank you, First Colony Mall, for creating adoption awareness with this community exhibit.
In an effort to begin 2023 on a powerful note, we invite YOU to join us in our Year End Giving Campaign! The Year-End Giving Campaign is a digital fundraiser aimed at achieving one goal: to raise $25,000 solely for BEAR’s Annual Fund campaign. BEAR’s Annual Fund was created many years ago to cover any emergency needs the organization may have, as well as to help fill any program-specific financial gaps that may arise in the coming year. This fund has proved to be vital to BEAR’s success and its ability to continue to operate its core programs.
One of the most impactful ways that BEAR serves children is through Heart Gallery Houston. Heart Gallery Houston is a traveling photographic exhibit and community education and awareness initiative created to help find forever homes for children in foster care awaiting adoption. With the help of professional photographers who volunteer their time, these heartfelt canvas photos bring life to the faces of children that long to find a forever family and a life of stability and love. Since its launch in September of 2021, Heart Gallery Houston has photographed over 190 children, and 27 children featured in Heart Gallery Houston have been matched with their forever family.
To continue to offer impactful programs like Heart Galley Houston which thousands of children rely on each year, we need your dedicated support. A generous gift from you will help ensure the sustainability of these programs and maintain the highest level of quality in resources to serve as many children as possible in 2023.
Donation levels range from $50 to $2,500, but you are welcome to participate at any level with which you are comfortable.
If you are planning to give to BEAR’s Year End Giving Campaign (Annual Fund) by check, kindly contact BEAR Staff at beardevelopmentevents@gmail.com, to ensure your donation is tracked in live-time in the $25,000 fundraising goal.
