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I am so excited and thankful to be starting 2023 with you and BEAR supporters, who are dedicated, to providing hope and help to at-risk and CPS-involved children throughout the Greater Houston area.
Last month, you assisted BEAR in serving over 23,000 children through the BEARing Gifts Program and also helped raise over $30,000 beating our ambitious $25,000 year-end funding goal!
Thanks to your generosity, we will now be able to do so much good in the coming year. Together, we can work to ensure that at-risk and CPS-involved children have the basic necessities to thrive, are prepared for their school year with school supplies and backpacks, and are able to experience the joy of the holidays. We also can work together to help children awaiting adoption in the foster care system find a “forever family.”
These children are our future. They deserve to live a life full of hope. They need our help and those of you who supported BEAR throughout the year answered the call.
I look forward to sharing updates with you and all BEAR supporters throughout the year. We already have so much planned and hope to have a wonderful 2023 filled with continued growth, including the enhancement of services. You make our progress possible, and I can’t thank you enough.
Sincerely,
Tammy Hetmaniak
Executive Director
BEAR…BE A Resource
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
As BEAR closes out its fiscal year, I would like to say thank you on behalf of myself, the staff, and the Board of Directors for another remarkable year. To those, I have met and to those, I haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet, I would like to thank you for the contributions you have made to BEAR and the children and families we have served over the year. From monetary and gift donations to volunteer hours and beyond, we have been able to collectively serve the most children in BEAR’s history. This is important as children and families continue to experience hardships at unprecedented rates and are in need of resources more than ever.
I would like to take a moment to highlight BEAR’s success with Heart Gallery Houston. In October 2021, BEAR began displaying Heart Gallery Houston photographic exhibits throughout the Greater Houston area to educate and spread awareness to the thousands of children in the foster care system. With the help of a handful of amazing volunteer photographers, BEAR has been able to take beautiful photographs of children currently in foster care waiting for a “Forever Family” and exhibit them through our community. By the end of this calendar year, Heart Gallery Houston will be in 5 of our local shopping malls but has also been exhibited in the Children’s Museum, a few Houston Astros’ Games, two YMCA’s, local art exhibits, shopping events, and more. To date, 26 children featured in Heart Gallery Houston have found “Forever Families”. It is thanks to YOUR support that we are able to provide programming such as Heart Gallery Houston to the children we serve on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis.
Also, because of your support BEAR was able to serve over 38,000 children through our BEAR Necessities Program, over 11,500 children through our Back to School Program, and finally, over 19,500 children through our BEARing Gifts Program. Your continued belief in our work means more children will be comforted during oftentimes very traumatic times of their lives.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sincerely,
Tammy Hetmaniak
Executive Director
BEAR…BE A Resource
VIEW NEWSLETTER FOR OCTOBER 2022
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Welcome to the first issue of BEAR’s Quarterly Newsletter: Providing Hope and Help. Beyond sharing program updates and news, we hope this will be a place to build community. At BEAR, we strive to accomplish this every day, especially in recent times. I am not able to summarize the past few years but one thing is certain, when at-risk and CPS-involved children and their caretakers were in need “YOU” answered the call for resources. I cannot thank my team, my community, our funding partners and board of directors enough for the support you have shown us. I am so grateful.
Providing Hope and Help will be delivered digitally on a quarterly bases. The goal of this publication is to share all the exciting developments that take place at BEAR on a daily basis. We will share program updates, highlight supporters, and announce ways our community can get involved. You are receiving this newsletter because you previously supported one of BEAR’s previous programs. While you are welcome to unsubscribe through the link at the bottom of this email, we hope you continue to subscribe to our quarterly newsletter.
Thank you for being part of this effort,
Tammy Hetmaniak
Executive Director
BEAR…BE A Resource
