Celebrity Charity Wishes: Bears for Buddies 2013

TWO EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY FACILITIES | DOZENS OF NFL PLAYERS | MORE THAN FIFTY CORPORATIONS

1 DAY I N C H A R LOT T E T H AT I N S P I R E D A F O U N DAT I O N F O R G O O D

It IS the little things that matter most. And we here at Prowler Magazine and Southern Sports Journal

were reminded of that in an upstart and surprisingly BIG effort that began with a wish, and a chance introduction.

Let’s start with The Wish. The word and concept it conveys seems a little whimsical for the 20-50+ age sports, entertainment and nightlife content-focused staff of our magazines. It wasn’t our idea at all. But it was an idea that we could immediately get behind. It became our proudest moment in recent memory. Please read along and see why we were so inspired, and if we tell the story well enough, maybe you’ll accept our invitation to join us as we embark on something that is destined to be enduring and worthwhile—something truly special—the creation of Celebrity Charity Wishes. Your life will be enriched as you do the same for those that matter most...the little ones.

THE WISH Celebrity Charity Wishes The wish was one made by an exceptionally good-willed teen girl who battled Osteosarcoma, a bone cancer at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC. She smiled brightly at times with the fight of her life on her hands. With her mother by her side, her spirit and fight inspired what now appears to be something of a gift that will give exponentially to other children for years to come.

She didn’t ask for hope. She instilled it. She didn’t ask for gifts. She gave the most precious one of all. A beautiful, unreserved smile which she asked to share with her idols and childhood icons. Her name was Brianna Watts, and she and her mother made the first Celebrity Charity wish. Actors, sports stars, and entertainers gathered around her to fulfill this wish, and thus, Brianna left her spark on this world. She was 15 years old when she succumbed to the fight against cancer on February 11th, 2010 and everyone who was there was forever changed.

Nearly two years later, the charity founded in her honor, Celebrity Charity Wishes, has successfully reached out to hundreds of children with the simple gift of a smile—and a moment of hope for all involved. For the first effort, it came in the form of a bear, hand-delivered to those most in-need, struggling with potentiallyterminal illnesses. Over 300 bears made their way to open arms. Each bear, started the journey as it was thoughtfully placed in a CCW Bears for Buddies collection box by a sponsor employ-

Building

ON HOPE

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ee, friend or the corporation—a simple act of kindness that would ultimately raise the spirit of a child.

THE PEOPLE All Committed, Amazing In the year and a half since they befriended Brianna Watts, nothing had motivated the three professional women who participated in this singular, selfless effort more than the experience that floated in their minds—one that was inspirational, yet weighed heavy with a calling.

And as the Holiday Season of 2011 approached, Lenora Bobo, Tammie Tolbert and Toni Brown decided it was time to act once again. Each a successful business person in their own right, they consulted family, friends and—as fate would have it—a like-minded group of business associates. And Celebrity Charity Wishes was born.

In the early moments of this process, many friends rallied around them, and we at Prowler were asked to be a part of this new effort by a longtime friends at So Exclusive, Inc. How could we resist? The cause, one dear to us all with families battles tugging at our heart strings, we jumped in with both feet. And all heart.

THE EFFORT Too Good To Fail We first met as a group in early-September, and in a whirlwind of compassionate activity by the CCW staff, all who were called upon to participate were compelled to do contribute. It was simply evident in the good nature of the gathering of folks involved that something wonderful

was at hand. While we at Prowler Magazine do our share of reaching out, we could not help but be blown away by the effort made to contact any and every business and individual who might further this cause.

And in our typical anecdotal fashion, since Prowler Magazine is designed to deliver only the soundest of sound bites and move on, we leave you for now with these two gems: As we spoke in the lobby of one of the world’s oldest banking institutions with not one, or two, but three of the bank’s busiest department members—no less than Wells Fargo community relations staff the very same week the changeover in Charlotte was occurring—Lenora Bobo and I held their audience and they graciously accepted our Bears for Buddies Collection boxes to be placed in key areas of the Uptown Wells Fargo Corporate Center. I asked her as we left “Do you have no fear?” She started at the top. And that, is part of this story. Thank You, Wells Fargo. And all.

The other part is something that was memorably stated apropos by a CCW Board Member, Poet Carde as each supporter was called upon to convey the message that warmly blanketed us all at the end of this incredible day. “We are all, so busy. That will never change. Next week, next month, when a friend, or someone calls on you to do something good, to help out, just go. Just go help. It will be rewarding for all.”

C E L E B R I T Y C H A R I T Y W I S H E S A N D A L L A R E P L A N N I N G O N A G R E AT 2 013

Do you remember what you thought of the power of giants when you were 3? 4? 5? What would it mean to you as a child to be a star for a day, meet stars and choose your favorite toy as a surprise from big bountiful boxes? It’s something to remember...

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For the Stimpson/Mullis family, and your family, and all who we have loved, kept and lost. RS

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