CORNERStONES - Cunningham Children's Home

Octavia shows one of the
teddy bears to Cunningham
President/CEO Marlin
Livingston.
considered making
bears to send to
Joplin. However, the girls
A few of the teddy bears that were made by the
young ladies of the Girl’s Group Home and
wanted to do something
auctioned for the Joplin tornado relief project.
bigger -- like raise money and and
awareness for the cause. So they
decided to make teddy bears and sell them through a silent auction for Cunningham staff. “The
girls really enjoyed developing this generosity project,” said Cortney Auter, Recreation Liaison.
“In addition to learning to help others, learning to work as a team to accomplish a goal was very
valuable for them.”
Each bear is unique, has a distinct personality, and is entirely hand crafted by the young ladies.
Some of the bears have inspirational messages or story tags like the ones on “Lucky” and
“Maisy”:
“Hi, my name is Lucky. I’m a very peaceful bear. I feel the war should end. I want it now. I’m a
very friendly bear. Please take me home!”
“Hello, I’m Maisy! I love to talk, but sometimes I stutter. I’ve been working really hard to
change this, and would love to help you overcome your obstacles. Let’s be friends!”
We are pleased to report that the Teddy Bear Auction raised $200 for the Boys and Girls Club
of Joplin, Missouri! Congratulations to the young ladies of the Girl’s Group Home for their
hard work in making the adorable bears and for their compassion and generosity in reaching out
to help other kids who have been through a terrible ordeal.
6
a cornerstone of generosity
w w w. c u n n i n g h a m h o m e . o r g
After the massive tornado
ripped through the town of
Joplin, Missouri in May,
the young ladies at the Cunningham
Girl’s Group Home were so moved
by the images they saw on TV that
they created a plan to help. The young
ladies were especially moved by the
story of a boy in Joplin who was
selling lemonade to raise money for
relief efforts. His generosity reminded
the girls that even kids can help.
The girls had heard about
organizations that provide teddy bears
to victims of natural disasters and they