Tender Loving Bearz is a program established to honor the memory and enlarge the impact of the life of Michele Byerlee-Black.

Michele’s birthday was February 14th, Valentine’s Day.  Michele loved and was an avid collector of all things “teddy bear”.  And through the many years that she battled Diabetes she spent lots of time in the hospital. In January 2006, at the age of 38, Michele passed away unexpectedly. A fund was established in her memory and through that fund we have created the Tender Loving Bearz program, to help bring a little bit of comfort to kids who are in need of medical attention. Every year on Michele’s birthday, February 14th, soft, cuddly teddy bears are donated to the local hospital for kids who are admitted or seen in the ER. Throughout the year we work to supply teddy bears to other agencies who work with kids in crisis. We are also working to award at least one scholarship per year to a local college bound graduating high school student in an effort to help provide opportunities for future education and enrichment of our youth.

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT 

What would you do today if you knew this would be your last day on earth? You would make that day count. You would be intentional about everything you did and every word you said. Not a single one of us knows when our last day will be, but every day we have a choice. A choice to love, to forgive, to make new friends, to repair relationships, to begin new adventures, to make a difference in someone’s life; to make every day count.

When someone dies, it hurts. Death makes us question so many things about life. We wonder what the meaning of life is and what we want to leave behind when it is our time to go. When a young life ends we realize even more profoundly how short our time on this earth really is and the importance of each day. The work that we do in Michele’s memory reminds us of the importance of each and every day. We have launched our MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT campaign to help each of us to remember that every day is precious.

We will be giving out our MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT bracelets throughout the year at different events. If you would like to have one just send us a message on Facebook!