SANTAQUIN, Utah — Around the holidays, Cassie Kramer's living room starts to get filled with stuffed animals.
"'Oh, let's see if we can get a couple' erupted into 'let's see if we can get 500,'" Kramer said.
Kramer was inspired to collect hundreds of stuffed animals for the non-profit organization "Bears for Ben" after her daughter received a Peppa Pig from them while hospitalized with RSV in 2017. At first, it seemed like just a stuffed animal, but over time, Kramer realized how much the donation meant to her daughter and her family.
"It let me know that others were thinking or praying for my daughter before I even knew she needed it, because this meant people were putting in efforts around November and December and donated this because it was already there at the hospital," Kramer said.
Kramer's daughter is one of hundreds of children who have been positively impacted by receiving a Bears for Ben bear.
Amanda Nemelka and Bears for Ben started collecting stuffed animals in 2015 in honor of her 2-year-old twin son Ben, who passed away unexpectedly the year prior.
"At the time, I was part of a Utah County twin group and met some really good friends through that. After his passing, they put together these teddy bears like this with a little poem to give my other three children as a comfort for them," Nemelka said.
Bears for Ben collects most intensely around the holidays, and come January and February, they tag all the bears with a special tag. Since 2015, Bears for Ben has donated stuffed animals yearly to hospitals across Utah and Salt Lake Counties, the Utah Highway Patrol, and ambulance teams to help comfort children going through hardship.
Dec. 1 will mark nine years since Ben's passing, and every year, his mom and former Bears for Ben recipients like Kramer look forward to honoring Ben through the donations they collect.
"I know this donation and collection each year has been a positive way to deal with a very hard time in our life," Nemelka said. "I would encourage people to seek ways to do the same in their life when they have a hardship."
This year, Kramer has her own goal of collecting 500 stuffed animals to be able to donate and she is well on her way, which she says is in part thanks to the help of many Saratoga Springs businesses and community members she works to rally: Ascend Bookkeeping and Tax, 545 Fitness Lindon, Fed Up Kitchen Orem, Anodyne of Utah Valley Orem, Hot Properties Real Estate, Unique Advantage, Quality Restoration, Inwest Title Services, Botecha, BNI Utah South, CONNECT Utah, and Sevy and Chelsea Hughes.
"I feel honored to be able to support another mom and another family in this journey," Kramer said. "Knowing that there might just be another mom, another dad that ... [are] all thinking and praying for their child is the best part in my opinion."
If you want to donate to Bears for Ben, you can learn more by going to their Facebook page or by donating through Kramer's Amazon Wishlist.
