Your Donation Lights Up Dr. Bear for Kids in Our Care

This holiday season, you have a special opportunity to bring joy and healing to the patients and families at Children’s National. In addition to providing critical funds for research and care, every donation made from now through Dec. 31 will light up special Dr. Bears placed in our hospital and across the region.

“We are asking you to show you care and ‘Light up Dr. Bear’ with your donation this holiday season,” says DeAnn Marshall, MHA, president of the Children’s Hospital Foundation. “Your generosity will have an immediate impact on a patient’s day and make a lasting difference on the care Children’s National provides children.”

Modeled after Dr. Bear, our iconic mascot, the light-up bears are being hosted by sites across Washington metro region starting the week of Nov. 19.

Each donation will light up these bears, as well as ones placed in Children’s National’s main hospital, community clinics, and outpatient centers across the region, brightening the day of patients and families receiving care.

“It’s a really amazing thing for families like ours who spend so much time here to see the bears light up and know people are out there caring and supporting us,” says mom Tierra, whose 16-month-old son, Priest, is a patient in the Children’s National neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Born extremely premature and weighing just ounces, Priest was transferred into the Children’s National NICU – the nation’s #1 NICU – shortly after birth and has spent the first 16 months of his life there. For parents like Tierra, seeing the bears light up brings a little joy and brightness to their day. Knowing that members of the community are lighting up the bears to support life-saving care for Priest and other kids is even more meaningful.

“All I can say is thank you to everyone who is donating and lighting up these bears,” Tierra says. “I’ve been here a long, long, long time, so I know the needs of the parents and the children here. There are so many different needs, and it’s a great cause, so please continue to donate.”

Donations to Children’s National support research for developing new therapies and cures, provides specialized equipment designed just for kids, and ensures that every child can receive exceptional care, regardless of their insurance of ability to pay.

“This campaign is really about the families here who depend on us. It’s about brightening their day and showing them that our community is out there supporting them,” adds Marshall. “Your gifts will bring a little extra joy to Children’s National and support our work to help kids grow up stronger.”

Visit ChildrensNational.org/Light today to make your online gift or find Dr. Bears located across the region. Don’t delay – show you care and light up Dr. Bear with your gift to Children’s National today.