Dani’s Dreams Club members partnered with New Palestine Elementary fourth grader Emma Mann to build a dozen bears for her Peace Bear Project Fri. Oct 11 at the Castleton Build A Bear Workshop. Dani’s Dreams Outdoor Education Center received a grant from the Hancock Regional Hospital Foundation to purchase the bears that will be given to patients at the new Hancock Regional Cancer Center. Build A Bear also donated 10 Peace Bears to be distributed at the Hancock Regional Cancer Center.
In addition to building the white Peace Bears, the students, from Sugar Creek and New Palestine elementary schools, including Emma, her sister Kendall, brother Cameron, friends Sadie Miller and McKaylah Flagle, and Dani’s Dreams Club members Sarah, Emily and Sam Adam wrote letters to the patients and will be delivering the bears personally in the coming weeks.
Emma is the winner of this year’s Dani’s Dreams Essay Contest with the theme, “Dream It – Do It!” The Peace Bear Project is her dream and here is how it began in her own words:
“My name is Emma Mann and I am 9 years old. Two years ago my Aunt Julie got colon cancer. As she got sicker and sicker I gave her my bear from Build-A-Bear that was blue and had different colored peace signs on it. I gave it to her because she was going to have surgery. I gave that bear to her because it had peace signs on it so she could have peace in her surgery. Julie said the bear made her smile even though it didn’t cure her.
About a month after surgery she passed away and I got the bear back. I then found out one of my teachers got cancer, so I sent the bear to her. My teacher loved it too. So now I am trying to find other people with cancer so I can give them bears too.
I think this is a good idea because it helps people with cancer smile even on a bad day.”
Dani's Dreams Outdoor Education Programs 