Build-A-Bear Workshop® Giving Programs Now Accepting Grant Applications for 2009
ST. LOUIS, Feb. 4, 2009 — Build-A-Bear Workshop® announced today that it is accepting grant applications as part of its annual giving programs. Grant applications can be made through the Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation and the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation.
The grant programs are part of a comprehensive giving strategy that has been in place since Build-A-Bear Workshop opened its first store in 1997. In the Company's 12-year history it has donated over $20 million to organizations that support families, children, animals and the environment, including the donation of thousands of stuffed animals to comfort children in need.
Maxine Clark, founder and chief executive bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop, commented, "Our Guests have been our partners in giving all of these years and I am proud that together we have been able to make a difference in the lives of families as well as the larger community. As a company for children and families, we have always taken a proactive approach when it comes to helping others by extending a helping paw or providing the comfort of a teddy bear hug. We are honored to continue this commitment in 2009 with our grants to help children, animals and the environment."
For more information and grant applications visit: http://www.buildabear.com/aboutus/community/grants
Through its ongoing giving philosophy — based on the belief that friends working together can make the world a better place and that it can all start with a hug — Build-A-Bear Workshop continues to extend the hug of a teddy bear wherever needed in its communities in the U.S.,Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, and through its franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.
About Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., is the only global company that offers an interactive make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. The company currently operates more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico,Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. Founded in St. Louis in 1997, Build-A-Bear Workshop® is the leader in interactive retail. Brands include make-your-own Major League Baseball® mascot in-stadium locations, Build-A-Dino® stores and friends 2B made® doll locations. In December 2007, Build-A-Bear Workshop® extended its in-store interactive experience online with the launch of its virtual world at www.buildabearville.com. Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) posted total revenue of $474 million in fiscal 2007. For more information, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company's award-winning Web sites at www.buildabear.com and www.friends2Bmade.com.
