Adopt-a-Bear Celebrates the Big Difference of Small Comforts

Children have gripped Adopt-a-Bear teddy bears aboard Mercy Flight transports to Seattle Children’s Hospital, found comfort holding them at a grandparent’s bedside at Peace Hospice, and been distracted by the bears while getting bones set in the Emergency Department.

More than 7,000 bears have found their way into children’s arms during challenging medical experiences since 2000.

The teddy bears come in an Adopt-a-Bear hoodie and are accompanied by a cuddly mini quilt. A card encourages recipients to come up with a name for the toy. Quilters use their own material for the quilts, and donors to the Adopt-a-Bear fund at Benefis Foundation make possible the purchase of the bears.

Founder Suzan Seery of the Falls Quilt Guild said the program began small to provide bears for the Pediatric Unit, but its success and members’ generosity with their time and talents have allowed it to spread across the system to other departments and rural locations.

In 2025, the Falls Quilt Guild and Benefis Foundation are celebrating a quarter century of the Adopt-a-Bear program and recognizing the difference it’s made for young patients and our smallest Benefis guests.

“We’ve heard from hospital staff that not only do the kids benefit, but it also is good for the medical people who get to give this gift that brings so much comfort,” Suzan said.

The bears have gotten casts and bandages along with their young friends. Staff said cuddling the quilts while their parents go through procedures reduces anxiety and opens children to hard conversations.

Thank you, quilters and donors, for 25 years of generosity and for the comfort you have provided.