Bears and Blankets

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Bears and Blankets

Alumni Leader Best Practices

Each year, over 9,000 children are admitted to WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital, many facing severe health challenges in an unfamiliar environment. To provide comfort, the WVU Alumni Lone Star Chapter launched the Bears & Blankets program supporting the hospital’s Child Life Program. In 2025, this initiative was expanded nationwide as a community involvement project for WVU Alumni Chapters. Through this effort, the WVU Alumni Association and its chapters will collect and donate bears and blankets to bring comfort to young patients during their hospital stay.

The objectives are to:

Raise awareness through a comprehensive marketing campaign.
Full chapter participation
Engage alumni nationwide in supporting this cause
Set and meet donation goals each year

Get Involved

Enroll your chapter to participate by contacting Kaitlin Beegle (kaitlin.beegle@mail.wvu.edu) and Logan Thorne (ljthorne@mail.wvu.edu).

Ways to Donate

Item Donations: Bring new bears and blankets to designated drop-off locations.

Financial Contributions: Donate through your chapter’s WVU Foundation giving page ensuring your contribution is credited to your chapter.

Leading Your Chapter's Impact

Use the social media kit prepared for your chapter to communicate the program
Share updates on chapter and personal social media channels
Encourage and organize chapter and community participation
Pursue media opportunities with local outlets

For more examples of downloads and Bears and Blankets information for use, please see the PDF by clicking the button at the top of the page.

Questions? Contact Logan Thorne (ljthorne@mail.wvu.edu) and Heather Dishman (heather.dishman.wvu@mail.wvu.edu).

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WVU Alumni Association
1 Alumni Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26504

(304) 293-4731

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