BABW Connect ~ Day 1 (part 2)

After the extremely riveting and enganging talk by Adrienne Weiss, we next got a chance to hear about how Build-a-Bear gives back.  There are so many facets to their charity work, and even at one point it really hit home to me.

We heard from a 12-year old boy named Zach Bonner.  Zach is an everyday kid who one day, at the age of 6 decided he wanted to help. And in his own words, "It's simple."  He was riding in the car one day after a pretty nasty storm 9hurricane maybe?) was set to hit his area.  Due to the storm threat, his mom had bought some extra water to keep in the house in case it was needed. The storm didn't hit their area as bad as it hit some of the surrounding area, and the radio station was talking about how these people were in need of water. Zach said "It's simple. They need water, and we have water. Mom, can we give them our water?" And look at this boy, a boy not too much older than Jonah, and his heart and his mind told him, "It's simple." and it just made sense. Zach has since continued to work on a number of project that himself and his Board of Directors (who are all under the age of 1 I might add!) have come up with. Projects like The Little Red Wagon Foundation, 24, and this summer he is walking across the country to raise awareness for homeless youth. He is an amazing and inspiring individual, and has done far more than so many adults just like me.  You can follow Zach on his journey on his ZachTracker.

Every year, Build-a-Bear picks what they call "Huggable Heros" (Zach was a Huggable Hero in 2007), individual kids who are doing something amazing to give back and pay-it-forward, just like Zach.

The inspiration for the Huggable Heros Program was a young girl named Nikki Giampolo. She battled and lost her life to cancer in 2002, yet her legacy can live on with the continued work she did for childhood cancer and the work Build-a-Bear continues to do each day.

The 2010 list of Huggable Hero's has just recently been released and there are kids like Allison M. from Fort Wayne, Indiana who has gathered over 44,000 items to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. And also Jourdan U, of New York, who is the founder of Children Helping Children (CHC), an organization that raises funds for cutting-edge research and the eradication of neurological diseases through a national benefit called, Concerts for a Cure. Check out the Huggable Hero's Build-a-Bear page for more info on ALL of 2010's Hero's as well as more info on the project itself.

The reason the Huggable Hero's Program hit home for me was the story behind why the bear, Champ was created. $1 from the purchase of Champ goes to the Build-a-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation, an organization that makes grants to support a wide variety of children's health issues.  Champ also represents courage, and is often a fuzzy supporter to many kids going through tough medical procedures, tests, and surgeries.  

While at the Build-a-Bear event, hearing those stories, watching that video, and talking about all the amazing things kids are doing, I couldn't help but get a little emotional. When Lily turns 2, she needs to go through more testing regarding her own medical issue she is fighting. I know it isn't as serious or life-threatening as cancer, heart disease, or anything else that many children are fighting everyday, but that doesn't make it any less scary for her, me, and our entire family. I made a vow that on the day of  her testing, we would make a stop at Build-a-Bear, and Champ too, will be accompanying her on that day we will be spending at Riley Children's Hospital.

(Day 1 ~ part 3 of the BABW Connect coming soon.....)

BABW Connect ~ Day 1 (part one)

Today started off with a bang. Seriously. I took a look at the itinerary for the day and realized we were not going to get a seconds rest! But I was so excited to see that, because that is SO me. I am the mother to TWO toddlers, I'm not real familiar with what some people call "down-time". And seeing that I was going to get a chance to hear so many stories and listen to so many influential people speak, I was pumped and ready for the day.

Maxine Clark, the Founder and Chief Executive Bear of Build-a-Bear started off the morning with a few influential words of wisdom and specifics and stats on the company. Did you know that 30% of the guests at Build-a-Bear are boys?! And the average age and gender of a Build-a-Bear guest is a 10 year old girl. I was so happy to hear this knowing that I have many, many years of creating memories and stories with my OWN kids, and they will still be in to it for many years to come.  Maxine also said "Shopping is about Dreaming" She made me think about how true it is that we remember exactly what we were wearing, or smelling, or feeling when certain, influential events have happened in our lives. It made me think back to the day I met my husband and how I specifically recall what pants he was wearing, and what shirt, and how he had a silver chain wallet hanging out of his right pocket. And it made me think the furniture in the delivery room when Jonah was born, and what was on the TV in the delivery room when Lily was born.  And I know these aren't specific "shopping" experiences, but these are emotional experiences. And isn't EVERYTHING emotional?

Next to speak after Maxine, was a great friend of hers, Adrienne Weiss. I have to be honest, I had no idea who Adrienne was, and I wasn't sure what she was talking about was going to have much relevancy to myself and my blog. But once she started talking she made points like:
     
          ~Brand is about story-telling
          ~Become a club people want to be a part of (i.e. Starbucks)
          ~Think about your brand as a country, with it's own language, rituals, and customs

But when she really engaged me. I mean, really pulled me in and made me want to be her best friend and pick her brain and make her hire me as one of her employees is when she said;

          "Get up 30,000 feet and have a moment with yourself and figure out your
           story.  Where's the heart? Unless you have an emotional piece of it, your
           missing where the story lies."

And truly, isn't that what this is all about? Figuring ourselves out? Just because we are mother's, it doesn't mean we have it all together. All the pieces don't always fit together perfectly and things aren't handed to us by any means. But taking that second (whether it has to do with blogging, or your career, or your life overall), doesn't this statement hold true everywhere and anywhere? I think deep down, we all want to leave some sort of a legacy behind us. Not necessarily for us, but for those beyond us, particularly our kids. Being an empty shell, going through the motions is meaningless and empty. Don't you want to fill your heart up and then give pieces of it out to everyone? Branding is not solely external and easy to understand and clear-cut. We are setting the stage for others within our blogging brand, why not set a phenomenal example?

And that's what the Build-a-Bear Huggable Hero's are about. And that is what the Build-aBear company is about. They give back in ways you cannot even imagine.

More tomorrow...

BABW Connect ~ Pre-Conference

Recently I was invited to attend the first ever Build-a-Bear brand building learning session in St. Louis, MO that is going on this weekend and I OF COURSE said "Yes!".  I was so excited to get a chance to meet with the Build a Bear people and get to hang out with fellow Mommy Bloggers (old friends and getting to meet new ones), and I am even more excited that this weekend is finally here.

We arrived yesterday and got a chance to take a short sneak peek of the area around Clayton, MO. There are some really amazing, old, houses that I am sure Todd would love. Hey Honey, have you ever thought about moving to St Louis??

And we ended up getting a quick dinner in a college town nearby. Tons of hangouts and even a very diverse and organic band playing on the street corner.

And did I mention how absolutely amazingly sweet our hotel rooms are? A king bed ALL TO MY SELF?! Wow.

We headed to bed pretty early, because we knew we had a super long day of learning and networking ahead of us. Honestly, I had a horrible time sleeping and woke up a million times. Leaving my baby girl (and my son and hubby) was really hard on me. Thanks to some of the awesome ladies here for their words of encouragement and promises to help me get through these few days by keeping my mind off of the family back home.

I finally got to sleep and of course, morning came too soon. But I got a chance to take a shower! And for some of you other mommy's out there know, showering is a hot commodity when at home. Knowing I got to take a shower, TWO days in a row was well worth the 5 hour drive. Oh, and of course all of the amazing things I got to experience the next day were indescribable! But that is for....tomorrow's post.