Help Build-A-Bear Workshop raise money for Children in Need

This is not the sort of post I write very often and to be honest, most of this type of request gets knocked back but when a polite request arrived in my inbox for me to mention this on my blog, I knew that I would be happy to help.

This Friday is Children in Need day, one of those days in the calendar that you cannot fail to notice. The whole BBC schedule on Friday night puts paid to that, and there are programmes in the run up. The whole point of the evening is to raise money to make a positive difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in the UK. the UK. The organisations which receive funding all work with youngsters aged 18 and under who may have mental, physical or sensory disabilities; behavioural or psychological disorders; are living in poverty or situations of deprivation; or suffering through distress, abuse or neglect.

Pudsey is the symbol of BBC Children in Need and you can now make your own Pudsey or his "beary best friend" Blush at Build A Bear Workshops across the UK. £5 from the sale of each bear will go directly to Children In Need funds. £135,000 was raised for the charity through the sale of Pudsey and Blush bears last year and this year, they are hoping to exceed this. Pudsey has some new outfits - a T-shirt with the new logo and some lovely slippers - as does Blush, and £1 per item of clothing also go to Children in Need.

If you've been reading this blog a while, you'll know that in June, we were invited to visit the Build-A-Bear Workshop at the Trafford Centre for another charity event and met Maxine Clark, the founder. The children both came away with their own bears - well, actually, a Hello Kitty and a Darth Vader teddy - and they both adored their bears and the whole experience of making their bears. The whole experience was lovely for all of us, if a little busy, and the bears have stood the test of time, despite being hauled around the place and used and abused in a way only small children can.

So, you'd be getting a lovely bear to take away and helping a charity. If you're fundraising on the day, I guess you could always raffle your Pudsey or Blush to help boost your total amount raised. Get your Pudsey now and help the appeal beat last year's record total of £39 million and help those children who really do need our help.

(I have not been paid to write this post, although Build-A-Bear have offered to send a ready made bear for the children) 

Building bears for charity

So, last Sunday, we were invited to an event at Build-A-Bear Workshop at the Trafford Centre to a meet-and-greet customer event which was going to benefit the Manchester Research Centre of Tommy's Charity. I deliberately didn't tell the children until that morning where we were going so we didn't get too excited. Missy Woo is a fan after getting a bear from there as a treat last year. We're forever being dragged into there to stare wistfully at the bears.

Maxine Clark and us

This was a bit different. We arrived and whilst we were waiting to go in, Missy Woo got to hug Bearemy, the Build-A-Bear mascot who was there with Pawlette. After being ushered in, we were given bears to build which were going to be passed onto sick or ill babies. The children liked this although the store was busy and there was quite a bit of waiting. And then, as we were doing this, a lovely lady came and told us that the children could go and choose a bear to take home. Any bear, any outfit. The children, who had been very good and not asked for bears as I had told them not to expect anything to take home, were besides themselves with joy.

Bears were duly selected and we waited to get them built - although Missy Woo then spotted the Hello Kittys and insisted on changing her mind. Outfits were chosen - ballerina for Hello Kitty - as Missy Woo has recently started ballet lessons; and Monkey picked out Darth Vader costume for his bear. And then we had to dress them. I then discovered how bad my bear dressing skills were, but then, I did have to put a tight rubberised outfit, facemask and wellies on a camouflage bear and tutu and ballet shoes on a kitten with an oversized head. Then we had to print "birth certificates" for our bears - of course, I did all the typing on the computers, especially as the barcode scanner wasn't working on ours and I had to type a very long code in to make it work. Hello Kitty was duly named Butterfly, and Darth Vader was named, well, Darth Vader!

Proud owners of Darth Vader and Butterfly

As we were leaving, we met Maxine Clark, founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop and "chief executive bear". She was amazed that Missy Woo was only 4 as she is so tall for her age. But then, she is quite small herself as you can see from the photo we had taken.

The children are very pleased with their new bears. They've been taken to bed most days and Missy Woo had a minor meltdown yesterday when she was feeling sensitive (she'd been watching High School Musical 2 and had got to a sad bit) and one of the reasons she gave me for being upset is that she wouldn't be allowed to sleep with her Hello Kitty when she grows up! Assuring her that she would, if she wanted to, be allowed to  take Hello Kitty to bed - but that she might not want to when she grows up - seemed to cheer her up. But I think we can say that the bears are a bit of a success and we'd all like to thank Build-A-Bear Workshop for inviting us and giving us a great afternoon.

Playing for Parky

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may remember this post from September about Gary Parkinson, who had a stroke aged 42 and is now suffering from locked-in syndrome. Since I blogged about his stroke, he's been moved to a specialist recovery centre in Bury and is undergoing treatment. The latest I can find is that he now has a wheelchair to allow him to go outside and is being fitted with a speech valve to help him make sounds, and he is also trialling electronic communication which reacts to his blinking and eye movement.

Back when I first blogged about it, I mentioned that I wanted to help with any fundraising event that is set up. Blackpool and Burnley have already held fundraising nights for his fighting fund, but this week sees Preston's turn. On Thursday 21st April, kick-off 6.30pm, there will be a Play For Parky international fundraiser held at Springfields (which is PNE's training ground off Dodney Drive in Lea, Preston) between Preston Supporter's Group (England) versus SIPS (Finland). The teams will be managed for the night by Graham Alexander and David Eyres, both former PNE players and team-mates of Gary. Entry is a suggested donation of £5. Afterwards, there will be an auction of memorabilia after the match at The Withy Trees in Fulwood.

Also, Middlesbrough, his home town team, are holding a charity match for him at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday 15th May, kick-off 4pm. The team of 86, which Gary played in, will play against other celebrities and household names. Gary's son, Luke, who has set up a website to keep everyone updated about his Dad's condition, is set to play in that game and wear the number 2 shirt worn by his Dad. If you want to buy tickets, please go here - tickets cost £10 for adults, £1 for children, with all proceeds going to The Gary Parkinson Trust. You can also buy tickets from usual Middlesbrough ticket outlets.

If you can make it to either, you'd be supporting a worthwhile cause. I'm going to try to get there on Thursday and live up to the promise I made in my original post. It's the least I can do. He may have been a football player, but he's also a father and husband. Quite apart from the impact this has had on him, I can only begin to imagine the effect on his family. They all deserve my support.