Build-A-Bear’s Huggable Heroes Program Rewards Giving Children
February 22, 2010 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
Brands have great charitable outreach partnerships that make it easy for kids to give. But, fewer of them have programs that reward kids for their own community service efforts. Build-A-Bear does both in spades.
I was so impressed with their community involvement and mission that I took the brand up on their offer to treat my boys to a workshop and got the low down from the manager about their Huggable Heroes contest first hand (nominations due February 26).
I won’t lie to you. I didn’t think Build-A-Bear was for us. One, because I thought my boys were the wrong audience for the store. And two, because somewhere in the back of my mind I was afraid they might like it and I’d have to fork out money on a regular basis to meet their bear-building needs. But I thought again and figured if they could be addicted to WebKinz, why wouldn’t they enjoy building their own bear—or bunny and dog as it turned out! And, to calm my nerves about the addiction, well… I could always say no, right? I am the mom after all. So off we went!
The process was simple.
- Select a “bear.”
- Choose a sound. I loved this part the best, but didn’t realize we could record ourselves until after, which may be all the reason we need for repeating the workshop experience. Your own voice in a bear, or dog, or bunny. What’s not to love about that, right?
- Pump stuffing into your bear for a strong or fluffy result.
- Give your bear a heart. Loveable bears are all the rage. No tin man Build-A-Bears for the Pattee boys!
- Primp and pamper your new BFF at the bath and brush station.
- Dress it. Who knew Chase liked Nascar! The things Build-A-Bear teaches you about your kids.
- Finally, name it. Bunny was “christened” Chocolate before we even arrived at the store and the Nascar racer dog became “James.” I was rooting for something along the lines of Bubba or Joe Dean, but I had no influence.
The last station before leaving was informal and totally for me—a chat with the manager to learn more about the Huggable Heroes program. Here’s what I learned and how you can participate:
- Visit a Build-A-Bear store or click here on the website between now and February 26 to pick up or download a Huggable Heroes nomination form/entry rules and requirements.
- Complete the simple form for a person you know between the ages of 8 and 18 who is making a difference in his or her community.
- Mail the form and required entry items in postmarked no later than Friday, February 26. That’s this Friday, folks!
Is this worth doing? Absolutely! Ten Huggable Heroes will be rewarded with, among other goodies, $10,000, which is divided up into a $7,500 college scholarship and $2,500 for the cause of their choice.
I give Build-A-Bear a million stars, two thumbs up, 9 paws (my favorite number), or a high rank of your choice for their ability to provide the perfect family fun activity while at the same time both offering kids with community involvement opportunities and encouragement and rewards for their service and individual outreach!
February 3, 2010 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
Written by Laura Franklin
When I was first introduced to the Fishful Thinking program, I instantly felt a connection with the parent-child activities. The five ingredients of Fishful Thinking—Optimism, Resilience, Goal Setting, Empowerment, and Emotional Awareness—fit in perfectly with my parenting style, or at least my parenting goals. I want my kids to grow up happy and confident and capable.
I have always been a hands-on mom. As my kids have gotten older and more involved in school and other activities, however, I have noticed that we were spending less and less time sitting, reading, and playing together. I decided to do something about that. I made it a goal to try out one Fishful Thinking activity each week with my kids. Not only would we be spending quality time together, but we could be learning things as well.
One week we tried Emotion Charades, a fun activity in the Emotional Awareness section. Before we gathered, I had written down a handful of emotions on small strips of paper. Happy. Sad. Scared. Excited. The kids got into the game right away, and each one had fun acting out the different emotions they picked. Something unexpected happened, though. I noticed that the older kids were reacting emotionally to the little kids’ acted-out emotions. It was hard for them to watch their little brother acting sad, even though they knew it was a game.
Another week, we played Mood Music. We turned the music up loud and danced away. I encouraged the kids to listen to the music and dance the way the music was making them feel. I loved watching the expressions on my kids’ faces and noticing their movements get more intense or more relaxed depending on the type of music being played.
Finally, we arrived at a week when we had gone through most of the Fishful Thinking activities. I came up with the idea to write a letter of the alphabet on individual sheets of paper. I passed the papers around and encouraged my kids to write things that they were grateful for that started with each letter.
The first thing my oldest daughter said was, “Is this a fishful thinking activity?” While it was not one of the activities listed in the website, I felt like it fit right in with what Fishful Thinking is all about. Half way through the exercise, my daughter again piped up, “It feels like Fishful Thinking.” What a great thing to hear from my 12 year old daughter! I was thrilled that Fishful Thinking had become such a common thing in our home that she was beginning to equate it with doing things together, blessings, and feeling positive. It really DID feel like Fishful Thinking! With all of the negatives bombarding my kids all day, I am grateful to have a resource like Fishful Thinking that helps bring us together and focus on the things that are most important.
Bio: Laura Franklin is a mom to five active children, ages 4 to 13, and wife to a language nut. Now that four of her kids are in school, she spends her free time taking pictures and blogging at Better in Bulk.Make a Difference at Home by Focusing on Your Family This Week!
June 7, 2009 by jyl johnson pattee · 30 Comments
Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how:
- Commit to do one act of kindness each week based on the week’s challenge.
- Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
- Grab the SOS button at the bottom of this post and put it on your blog or social networking site.
- Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Check out this week’s family focused giveaway by clicking here.
- Join #gno to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge. (Note: 10 lucky winners will receive popcorn gift packs during #gno!)
10 Ways to Make a Difference This Week
Here are 10 ideas to help you Focus on Family that will make a meaningful difference this week!
- Choose your favorite games and set aside an hour to play them together as a family.
- Enjoy mealtime together, having each person take a turn sharing about his or her favorite part of the day.
- Have a talent show where each person in the family is encouraged to participate. Talents can include simple things like doing a karate kick, juggling, or telling a story to more complex things like playing a musical instrument, reciting a poem, or performing a dance number.
As a family, write a letter or send a package to a family member that lives far away, expressing your love and gratitude for that person.- Decide on your favorite at-home family activity and plan some time this week to do it. For one extra step, assign each family member a day of the week and allow him or her to choose which family activity to do. Set aside an hour to Focus on Family each day this week.
- Make a treat together as a family and share it with a neighbor or other relative.
- Create a CD with all your favorite family songs. Listen, sing, and dance to them together.
- Choose a favorite family movie and set a time this week to have a family movie night. Don’t forget your Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn! Mmmmm!
- Come up with a family mission statement. Identify your family goals and short- and long-term goals. Remember to include fun stuff in your plans like vacations, at-home family activities, etc.
- Make time every day this week to spend one-on-one time with each of your children, telling them how much you love them. Do the same with your spouse!
This week’s SOS Challenge is sponsored by Orville Redenbacher’s. What other ideas do you have for Focusing on Family? Please share a comment here, letting us know how Focusing on Family has made a meaningful difference for you and your family this week.
Photo used with permission from Flickr.
RSVP for #GNO & Discover Fun Ways to Focus on Your Family!
June 7, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 14 Comments
#GNO is talking about focusing on the family, specifically as it relates to spending quality at-home time. We have a terrific panel lined up, including author Kathy Peel and parenting bloggers, Marie from Make and Takes and Vanessa from I Never Grew Up among many other fabulous gals. Join the #gno gang here this Tuesday night.
- What: Girl’s Night Out (What’s GNO? Click here to find out!)
- When: Tuesday, June 9, 9-11 p.m. EDT
- Where: Tweet Grid (use #gno hashtag)
- Topic: Family activities
- Who: @kathypeel, @cgudovic, @makeandtakes, @genamazzeo, @nancy_martira, @inevergrewup, @pamelavl, @ginadstyle
- Party Favors: Remember to enter to win this week’s giveaway sponsored by Orville Redenbacher’s. Click here for details. Twenty lucky winners will be chosen—ten of them during the #gno party!
- RSVP: Enter your twitter URL/ID in the list below (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF). If you would like to include your blog, please enter it next to your name. Make sure to include your twitter URL in the URL line. Please do not enter your blog URL there.
Photo used with permission from Flickr.
Giveaway—Win a Popcorn Gift Pack for the Perfect Family Night In!
June 7, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 30 Comments
Orville Redenbacher’s understands that quality family time at home is made better with a big bowl of popcorn. And, to help Mom It Forward moms meet this week’s Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge to Focus on Family, Orville Redenbacher’s is giving away coupons for popcorn to Mom It Forward’s #gno community as well as awarding a total of 20 lucky winners some great gifts—four winners on this site, six winners on participating mom blogger’s sites, and 10 winners Tuesday, June 9 during #gno (click here to join the party and win).
Enter to win this week’s giveaway here by reading the rules for entry below. You can also enter at these terrific parenting blogs: Make and Takes and I Never Grew Up.
Giveaway Prizes
Four lucky winners from this site will be randomly selected to win a gift package, including:
- A popcorn bowl
- Three boxes of Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn
- Kathy Peel’s most recent book, The Busy Mom’s Guide to a Happy, Organized Home
Entry Requirements
To enter to win, you are required to do the following four things:
- Take this week’s SOS Challenge to Focus on Family by completing one of the post’s 10 suggestions or by performing one random act of kindness that fits within this week’s theme.
- Share your experience by leaving a comment on that post.
- Tweet about this giveaway sponsored by Orville Redenbacher, including this link: http://momitforward.com/giveaway%E2%80%94win-a-popcorn-gift-pack-for-the-perfect-family-night-in.
- Leave a comment on this post by Sunday, June 14 at midnight EDT, including your e-mail address and information about your extra entries, if applicable.
To receive extra entries (for a total of five extra entries):
- Click here to join the Mom It Forward Facebook group.
- Post about this giveaway on your Facebook wall.
- (For 3 extra entries!) Join and post a picture of your favorite family activity to the Mom It Forward Flickr group.
In the event that you do not win a giveaway, Orville Redenbacher’s would still like you to enjoy family fun with a big bowl of popcorn. Click here to download this coupon for a box of Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn.
The Fine Print
You may enter in all giveaways, but you may only win once. No purchase necessary to enter this giveaway. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. ConAgra employees and Mom It Forward, Make and Takes, and I Never Grew Up family members are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, June 14 at midnight EDT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered.
