The Bear
Brooke was given the original Mary Meyer’s purple teddy bear in 2001 on the day she was born by her grandparents, Noni and Pop Pop. She cherished the bear throughout her life, especially after her grandparents passed away when Brooke was only 11 years old.
One of our favorite songs since the kids were little is “You Are My Sunshine.” Brooke had a wall sign with the lyrics to this song in her bedroom and she loved the words:
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray.
You’ll never know dear, how much I love you
– Ohhh please don’t take my sunshine away.”
Brooke’s friends have told us how she would sing these words to them to cheer them up when they needed it. We’ve included it on Brooke’s teddy bears to help spread some of her sunshine to others who are in need.
Since we wanted the new bear to resemble Brooke’s own, we reached out to the original manufacturer, Mary Meyer’s Stuffed Toys in VT for help. We’ve made a few minor changes, mainly to make the bears as safe as possible for future recipients, and we’ve added the special patch too!
Brooke’s Bears will be distributed to children in hospitals, surgical centers, orphanages, foster homes, the possibilities are endless – wherever there is a child in need of a smile, we’ll try to be there offering a ray of sunshine in the form of a special bear – in honor of a very special young lady, Brooke Madison Costanzo.