No Hibernation for New Teddy Bears Thanks to Teen Hospital Volunteers

MELROSE PARK, Ill. – While many of their friends were dying brightly colored eggs or enjoying the start of a special holiday vacation, three Chicago-area teenagers visited a local hospital to lift the spirits of the youngest patients. The trio gave more than 500 new teddy bears to the hospital as part of a volunteer program they created. When Michelle Fritz, 13, would visit her grandfather in the hospital, she noticed a young patient who never seemed to have visitors. "I felt really sorry for her because she didn't have any family or friends who brought her presents or came to see her and she looked so sad and lonely," said the 7th grader at St. Maria Goretti Catholic School in the Chicago suburb of Schiller Park. Now thanks to the kindness of Michelle and five of her schoolmates, young patients at Loyola University Health System's Gottlieb Memorial Hospital will always have a warm, fuzzy friend for company. Michelle and her friends collected more than 500 new teddy bears from community members as part of their "Hospital Hearts Teddy Bears" program. On Good Friday, Michelle and her friends Carli Deegan and Bri Swanson visited Gottlieb's Pediatrics Department and family-centered care unit to give new teddy bears to young hospital patients. "I'd like the orange one," said 10-year-old José Iniquez, when the teenagers offered him a selection of big, small, furry or smooth bears. Marilou Rodriguez, supervising nurse of Pediatrics, and her fellow staff members accepted the many bags of bears gratefully. "A hospital stay can be stressful for young people; for many it is their first time away from home. Having a colorful, cuddly bear for company helps calm fears and promotes healing. And knowing they are a loving gift from a fellow young person makes it all the more special," Rodriguez said. Rodriguez praised the teenagers’ initiative. "To come up with this volunteer idea and then spend time and energy gathering these bears to help others is really wonderful and the young girls are so kind to put the feelings of others first," she said. New mother Maria Romero accepted a traditional brown teddy bear for her son, Isaac, who was born less than 24 hours before at Gottlieb. "It's his first teddy bear and it means so much to us that it was a gift from these sweet girls. We will treasure it always," she said. Wearing shirts they had created themselves to promote their program, the three girls told Gottlieb Memorial Hospital nurses that they would be back. "We started the program in December, but we want to continue to encourage teddy bear donations," said Carli, who has been a regular at the hospital but as a patient rather than a visitor. "I play school team sports and have broken six bones in the past three months. I know how scary coming to the hospital can be," she said.