#itown

Outreach Quick Guide: Build a Bear Christmas Serve

Contributed by: Heather Chaulk - Outreach Pastor at Itown Church, Fisher, IN

The Idea: Host a “Build A Bear” workshop where church members can make stuffed animal friends to be delivered to children in local hospitals. Holidays can be a difficult time for some, so we deliver bears during the week of Christmas letting children and their families know they aren’t forgotten and that Jesus loves them during their most challenging times.  If a child must be in the hospital on Christmas Day, we like to make sure they have a gift to enjoy. This Serve is super impactful for our team members who are able to assemble, pray over, and connect personally with the families who receive the bears. The feedback from the hospital staff is always incredible, too. Because, while we aren't directly serving them, they often get involved in the bear delivery and love getting to see the joy on the children’s faces. 

Number of Volunteers Needed: (Numbers can vary depending on bear quantity.) 

1 person per station

One person at entrance

One person facilitating lines

1-5 people stacking completed bear boxes

People making bears

Supplies Needed:

Build a Bears (already filled with fluff but not sewn up)

Tablecloths

Bear boxes

Bows

Hearts from Build a Bear

Tracts

Hand-written cards

Blow up baths with blue tissue paper, rubber ducks and brushes

Benches

1 chair per sewing station

Black Gaff tape

Signs to label each station

Fishing line and S hooks if you are hanging the signs

8 foot rectangle tables

2-4 round tables for prayer

Basic Instructions: Prep Work:

Call hospitals and USO in your area and ask the following:

Permission to make and deliver bears to children and siblings. 

Estimated number of children staying on location.

Permission to share invite cards and Gospel info

Call your local Build a Bear and order bears 

Sometimes corporate discounts apply for non-profit and churches – so be sure to ask!

Make sure they are willing to stuff the bears but not sew them

Ask if they would be willing to send staff members to sew the bears during your event

Ask if they will be willing to train some your team members to sew as well.

Event:

Set up the Build a Bear Workshop Space at Your Church

Station 1: Set up tables at the entrance with bears that have been pre-stuffed but not sewn, for the church members to grab as they walk by

Station 2: The heart station where they grab one heart per-bear

Station 3: Rows labeled numerically according to however many sewers you have. The sewers need to be trained by Build a Bear and will sit in chairs under their line number. A team member will facilitate the lines. Make sure someone is monitoring these to keep a backup from happening. 

Station 4: Bath time! Set up two benches with blow up baths on it. Fill the baths with blue tissue paper, rubber ducks and brushes. 

Station 5: Dryers - These can be built but any form of standing dryer is awesome for the kids. We tie gold tinsel to the dryers for more fun. 

Station 6: Lay out tons of bows (Build a Bear will usually donate these and the boxes) across a table and let everyone decorate their bears however they wish.

Station 7: Have them grab a hand-written card that was made by the church. (We have our 1st-5th grade kids church pre-make these cards during the month leading up to the vent.) 

Station 8: Grab a tract and a rubber band. The tract shares the Gospel, the rubber band has an invite card with our service times attached. The rubber band and invite serves as a bracelet for the bear.

Station 9: Have the bear boxes set up on tables so they can be easily picked up as members walk by. Have a team member or two refilling throughout the outreach. 

Station 10: Prayer station. Use round tables to let families pray over the children and families who will receive the bear. Give them an outline of what to pray for. 

DropOff!

Have a good spot designated for completed bears to be dropped off at. 

We make sure the area they are in is labeled by hospital with the number facing out.