After a little girl in Tennessee lost a precious Build-A-Bear that included the sound of her late mother’s heartbeat, the Build-A-Bear company has stepped up to replace it.
The bear was mistakenly donated to a Goodwill in Tazewell, Tennessee last month and was quickly bought by someone else. The four-year-old girl’s mother recently passed away and the bear is one of the last things the girl has to remember her mom.
Despite efforts with television news reports, social media outreach and more to try to get the buyer to bring it back, the bear remains missing.
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The Build-A-Bear folks got word of this and were able to provide the girl with the same bear. The family had saved the recording of the mother’s heartbeat, which the company added.
Build-A-Bear released this statement.
“The staff at Build-A-Bear were heartbroken to hear the news about the missing Rainbow Sparkle Bear in Tazewell, Tennessee. Understanding how precious furry friends often are, the team at the warehouse (otherwise known as the “Bearhouse”) reached out to the local radio station, WRIL, that originally aired the story of the missing bear. WRIL contacted the family directly and it turned out that they still had the original recording of the sound. The Bearhouse team located a matching Rainbow Sparkle Bear and added the original recording the family provided to the new bear. The new Rainbow Sparkle Bear, with the sound file included, was promptly sent to WRIL. WRIL and Goodwill worked to unite the new bear with the family. Build-A-Bear would like to thank WRIL and Goodwill for their helpful role and while we remain hopeful that the original bear is located, it is our sincere wish that this new teddy bear will provide a bit of comfort for the child and the family at this time.”
