Getting ready for Toys for Tots

Update:  We are proud of our two bears.  Between the two of them they brought in $775 by the UGA fans bidding against the Tech fans.  The DAWGS may have lost the state rivalry game, but they are sure going to bring a smile to a lot of kids who would otherwise have a very sad Christmas.
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We are so pleased that Toys for Tots is auctioning off two of our bears to raise money.  Our local Toys for Tots provides toys for kids in Floyd, Chattooga and Polk counties.  They are going to auction a UGA (go DAWGS) and Georgia Tech bear.

It will be interesting to see which bear raises the most money....GO DAWGS

Jayden and Emma-Grace

I am so glad that I got to share my bears with Jayden and Emma-Grace.  They were so excited about them.  They call them "Nina bears".  I don't always have the opportunity to see the kids who receive my bears, so this was a great opportunity.

Pioneer Days in Cartersville

Friday was a pretty slow day at Pioneer Days.  I did not sell any bears, but I got to do something even better.  I was able to bring happiness to a beautiful little girl and her family.  Emma is a beautiful little girl that has Neurofibromatosis (NF for short).  NF is a genetically inherited disorder of the nervous system which mainly affects the development of nerve cell tissues causing tumors to develop on nerves.  This disorder affects 1 in every 2,500 newborns.

Seeing the happiness that my bears bring is what this is all about.  Taking the family away from the illness, even if only for a few short minutes, makes Nina's Share-A-Bear a success

1st delivery of Bears for Shriner's Kids

I delivered my first set of 12 bears to an awesome group.  The Shriner's have 22 children's hospitals across the states.  They have roadrunners that transport children back and forth to the hospitals.  My bears are going to be used to bring a smile to the faces of the children while they are traveling back and forth to the hospitals in Greeneville, SC and Cincinnati, OH

Good-bye Bears; Hello Smiles

These bears are going to make 10 kids very happy.  They are going to a local children's center to help making life's transitions easier for kids.

Austin and Sarah

We finished this really cool custom bear for Austin and Sarah.  It represents their anniversary date.

Arts of Serendipity Craft Mall

We are getting ready to take my bears "retail".  We are putting the bears in a new craft mall that is opening up in Cedartown, GA.

News from the Homespun Festival

We had a good weekend at the Homespun Festival in Rockmart, GA.  The weather didn't get bad until late Saturday, so the organizers had to cancel the fireworks and end a little early.

I finally sold my Duck Dynasty bear to Parker.

Hunter picked out the Army Bear.

College bears are always popular...GA beat out Alabama in sales.  We also finally sold the University of Miami bear.  It was pretty cool, the ladies son actually plays football there, so my bear will be attending the football games this year.

So far, I have had a bear in Sanford Stadium (Go DAWGS) and now the University of Miami...pretty cool.

Cave Spring Festival: June 14th and 15th

Stop by and see my collection of bears at the Cave Spring Festival this weekend.  These make great last minute Father's Day gifts.  

We will be there from 10-6 on Saturday and 10-5 on Sunday.

See you there!!!

1890s Day in Ringgold

We had a great time at the 1890's Day Festival.  Dad met Seth's mom in Calhoun after Coosa's graduation so he got to spend most of the day Saturday with us.

The fireworks started at 9:45 and we sold our last bears at 9:43.  Everyone had on TN Vols hats and shirts, but we did not sell a single TN bear.  Mom had 12 ready to go.  We sold Michigan, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, GA/FL house divided, but no Tennessee.

Michigan...REALLY

Sharing a Bear with Addison

I was so happy to be able to share a bear with Addison today. Addison is an awesome little girl who had been fighting a childhood disease since birth. I met her as a student at Sylvan Learning.

This is what inspires me to keep selling and donating bears. You can see from the smile on Addison's face that your purchase DOES make a difference.

Youth Service America: Everyday Young Hero

YSA honors Nina Manuel, 16, of Rome, Georgia for raising money for hospitalized children through the creation of handmade stuffed teddy bears.

Nina founded Share-A-Bear in the spring of 2013 and creates teddy bears to benefit hospitalized children. Nina, who started her project to raise money for her Relay for Life team, sells her handmade bears and donates the money to charity. 

Through her desire to give back, Nina has gotten her entire family involved. Her father cuts the material and her mom sews the teddy bears together.  Her grandmother even hand sews the final stitches in the back after the bears are stuffed. She ships cut out bears to her grandma in Louisiana to sew the fronts and backs. 

Since April, Nina has sold 220 bears and raised more than $2,200. In 2013, she took 85 bears to the Arnold Palmer's Hospital for Children in Orlando.

For hand-crafting stuffed teddy bears for hospitalized children, we honor Nina Manuel as an Everyday Young Hero.

My Television Debut

It was definitely worth being at Ridge Ferry park at 6:30 Friday morning.  Even though it was just a few minutes, I was on Good Day Atlanta.

I am on the broadcast right after they BBQ guys get finished with their "trash talk"

Good Day Atlanta

Relay 2014 was Awesome

I want to say a big Thank You to everyone who supported me through my fundraising journey for this year's Relay for Life. Last year, I started Nina's Share-A-Bear by raising $285 at the 2013 Relay for Life. What a difference a year makes. 

I am pleased to announce that I exceeded my goal of $1,500. I raised $1,865. The best part of this was the happiness that I saw in the eyes of the "Survivor Kids" when they picked out one of my bears and gave it a big hug. This was their night and I was able to help them forget about cancer, medication and doctors for a few minutes.

2 new Custom Bears

I made these two custom bears for Tonya.  They turned out really cool

Athens Bound with Emerson

2:30 PM - Let's get this party started.  What an awesome team... GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!  Can't go wrong with Dawgs against Dawgs...

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Getting closer to game time:  Emerson and Athens have visited the gift shop and have had their pictures made in front of Sanford Stadium.  It will be time to go between "The Hedges" before long.  Look who we found; the legendary Vince Dooley himself.

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April 12th...9:30 AM -- Up bright and early to get ready for the game.  Emerson insists on sharing her breakfast with me.  I have to keep up my energy to get lots of pictures made with the UGA cheerleaders and football players.

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Whew, we made it to Athens, safe and sound.  In case you are wondering, my name is Athens.  Here I am with Emerson in the condo.  We are getting ready to call it a night, so we will be ready for tomorrow.

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My journey began at 11:15 AM on Friday, April 11th.  I was selected from all of Nina's awesome UGA bears to travel to Athens to attend the 2014 Georgia Bulldogs G-Day Spring football game with my new best friend Emerson.

Emerson and I will be posting pictures this weekend.

You can also purchase one of my awesome UGA bear friends from Nina's ETSY store

UGA Bears

I am donating $15 for all bears purchased before April 26th to Relay for Life on behalf of our Friends Against Cancer team.  I will also make and donate a 2nd bear to a hospitalized child.

Yes, I also have Gators, Elephants, Yellow Jackets, Razorbacks and more

Sports Fans

I received my Prudential Spirit of Community Bronze Medal today

Other than having to wear my Chapel Outfit on a Tuesday, it was a pretty cool experience.  I did a quick uniform change before I let mom take pictures with my medal.

Nina's Share-A-Bear travels International

My first bears to travel international made it to Nicaragua with Molly this week. The smiles on her niece's faces says it all.. "Everyone should have a Share-A-Bear by Nina"...well maybe I am doing a little interpretation on my own.

The smile's is what this is all about. The best part of all is that three hospitalized children are also receiving a Share-A-Bear by Nina.

April 2nd: Autism Awareness Day

Today is Autism Awareness Day.  My challenge to you is to purchase one of my awesome Autism Awareness Bears to support the ongoing research of this disorder.

Goal:  Sell 10 Autism Awareness bears.

Click here to purchase an Autism Awareness Bear

Here comes the Easter Bears

Here come the Easter Bears...

Relay for Life Team Captain's Meeting

I went to our local Relay for Life team meeting tonight.  I wanted to see if i could get new ideas on how to get our Share-A-Bears to more people.

I suppose I should not have raised my hand when they asked who knew what type of fundraiser they were going to have at the event.

I did it, I got up in front of a small group of adults and told them about my bears.  Scary.

I actually had a bear with me and everyone loved it.  This year's Relay for Life theme is Mardi Gras.

They also told the group that I will be donating the bears for the survivor kids at this year's Floyd County Relay for Life (pretty cool and exciting stuff)

I also got a lot of good ideas that I am going to check with my school to see if we can do.  They have really cool coin cups, so I am going to see if we can have a contest to see whose homeroom collects the most money.

Comedy and Tragedy

One of my friends at school wanted a bear for someone that is into Theater.  Tragedy and Comedy mask material was pretty hard to find.  However, we found these really cool embroidery patterns.  It turned out really cool and she liked it a lot.

2014 Floyd County Relay for Life

My goal to contribute for our Relay for Life Team (Friends Against Cancer) is $1,500.

So far, I have raised $700.00 by selling bears at craft shows, on ETSY and friends of my parents over the past few months.

Below is the Relay for Life Fundraising page where they posted the link to my ETSY store to distribute my fundraising opportunity

Relay for Life

Check out this Fundraiser!
Buy a special Nina's Share-A-Bear Between now and through the Floyd County Relay for Life event in April , and she will donate $15 for every cancer awareness bear purchased through her ETSY store ! She will also donate $15 for any other bear sold on her ETSY store with coupon code RELAY

In addition to the money Nina raises for Relay for Life, she will also be making and donating a 2nd bear for each bear she sells to the Children't hospital.

Nina's ETSY Store

Mom and I are working on Cancer Awareness Bears to sell to raise money for the Friends Against Cancer team.  Everyone wins with each purchase of a Share-A-Bear.

2014 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards

I received notice last week that I have been selected to receive an engraved bronze Distinguished Finalist medallion in The 2014 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for outstanding volunteer work.

I placed as one of the top 6 high school students in the state of Georgia.  It has been almost a year since I started Nina's Share-A-Bear and I have sold over 220 bears, which means I get to make and donate 220 bears to the children's hospital.

Below is the link the Prudential Article

2014 Spirit of Community Awards