AKRON, Ohio — It's a beautiful day in early September, and the University of Akron's "Ohio's Pride" marching band is getting ready.
Boxes of Speedy Bear teddy bears have arrived, and the smiles are on full display.
It's National Teddy Bear Day, and once again, the NASCAR Foundation's Speedy Bear Brigade is visiting Akron Children's Hospital.
"We look forward to this day every year, and so do our patients and families," Chief Development Officer Shelly Brown told the crowd gathered outside the hospital entrance. "Small, comforting things like teddy bears mean a tremendous amount to our kids who are here usually on the most difficult days of their lives."
The Speedy Bear Brigade is an initiative supported by Kaulig Giving, and it's no secret Akron Children's Hospital is a special place for 3News contributor Matt Kaulig.
"My daughter spent her first nine days of her life here," he recalled. "She had surgery and then spent time in the NICU, so even ever since then, we've been way involved with Akron Children's and really appreciate the awesomeness that is them."
Just like so many other families who have come here seeking lifesaving treatment for their kids, families like 11 year-old Annie Taggart's.
"Annie has a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta," her mom Sarah said. "Akron Children's was only one of two in Ohio that had a skeletal dysplasia clinic. So we chose them, and we are so happy we chose to come here when she was only a month old because we haven't left. They have been amazing to us."
Like Annie, 9-year-old Evie Densevich is an Akron Children's Children's Miracle Network ambassador. Her mom Catie explained they too have been coming here since Evie was just a baby to treat her sagittal craniosynostosis.
"Evie, at her six-month wellness visit, her pediatrician was a little bit concerned about her head size, but it wasn't growing properly and he couldn't feel her soft spots," she recounted. "We came here, she had her first craniotomy, where they take apart your entire skull and then put it back together like a puzzle."
Today, these two fighters are both doing well. Annie is known for her dimpled smile, and Evie is a competitive dancer — even mastering the aerial (no-handed cartwheel) this year. They're on hand to help distribute bears and share their stories so other young patients don't feel alone.
"She gets to go to all sorts of fundraisers, all sorts of ribbon-cuttings representing the hospital, talking about her story," Catie told 3News. "As scary as (these kids of) diagnoses are and as scary as the time here and the surgeries and the recovery times and the unknowns, it's this feeling of family and love and togetherness that you kind of just depend on and count on, and it's been really great.
Annie and Evie are true Powers of Inspiration who understand that a small gift, like a cuddly teddy bear, can mean so much more.
"This year, (we'll be) going to over 110 hospitals all over the country," NASCAR Foundation Executive Director Nichole Krieger. "Thousands of bears will be handed out, so it's an opportunity for us to just spread the love to so many children."
"Making kids smile is something we love to do," Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing, added. "Just to give them something to hold on to and comfort and know they have a bunch of support outside of the hospital just makes their day."
If you're interested in supporting the Speedy Bear Brigade, visit here.