Brittany’s Bears donates comfort to kids in need

♦ Brittany Mincey, the organization’s founder passed away in 2019 after a long battle with cancer.

Brittany’s Bears donated hundreds of stuffed animals to local agencies for children in times of need this year, continuing a legacy of love and compassion left behind by the organization’s founder and namesake Brittany Mincey.

Mincey, who passed away in December 2019 following a 24-year battle with cancer, first founded the organization along with teacher Lori Fisher when she was a sophomore in the Calhoun High School Health Occupations Students of America club.

Her mother Cindy Mincey said the idea to give other kids bears to help them find comfort during hard times was born from Mincey’s own experiences as a child. Having been diagnosed with brain tumors at just 6 years old, she understood just how important something as small as a stuffed bear could be.

“Brittany had a heart of gold. She wanted to help other kids. She just loved,” her mother said. “If you wanted someone to pray for you, she always would. People would come to her and ask her to pray for them because she had a connect with God that a lot of people don’t have. She didn’t just pray to Him; she talked to Him.”

In the early days of the organization, the stuffed animals donated by Brittany’s Bears went directly to children who were suffering from illness or who had experienced car wrecks or home fires.

Thanks to the program and continued collaboration with the Calhoun High School HOSA club, between 800 and 1,000 bears are donated each year in Calhoun and Gordon County to continue reminding those children and others like them that someone out there cares.

This year, Brittany’s Bears donated to the following organizations and people to distribute bears: Calhoun HOSA Club advisor Lori Fisher; Calhoun Fire Station 1, the Calhoun Police Department, the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office, Gordon County Fire Department Station 5, Calhoun Fire Station 3, Calhoun Fire Station 2, Ken Bruce at AdventHealth Gordon, Gordon County Fire Department Station 6 and Georgia State Patrol Post 43.

Contributed Brittany’s Bears donates hundreds of stuffed animals to local agencies, like the fire department, to give to children seeking comfort during life’s most difficult moments.