ST. LOUIS -- January 10, 2005 -- In a special effort to help families who are suffering from the tsunami tragedy, Build-A-Bear Workshop(R) is inviting Guests to participate in the relief efforts by purchasing special purple satin hearts. All funds raised will benefit Save the Children and UNICEF, two organizations that have mounted extensive relief efforts for the victims of the tsunami disaster. During January and February, Guests can purchase these hearts for $1 in any Build-A-Bear Workshop stores in the U.S. and Canada and on the company website at www.buildabear.com. Guests are encouraged to make a donation and make one for their teddy bear too.
As an added way to support the tsunami relief effort, for every heart that is purchased, Build-A-Bear Workshop will match the donation up to a total of $25,000. Because the need is so urgent Build-A-Bear Workshop will send an immediate grant of $10,000 from the matching funds divided equally between Save the Children and UNICEF.
In addition, Build-A-Bear Workshop will be conducting an online auction with eBay to auction sports and entertainment celebrity bears including bears signed by the Friends cast. All the proceeds from sale of the special hearts and the auction items will be given directly to Save the Children and UNICEF.
According to Build-A-Bear Workshop Founder and Chief Executive Bear Maxine Clark, this relief effort is yet another way that Build-A-Bear Workshop is able to support children's health and wellness issues and is a great opportunity for children to help other children. "Children want to show they care and in times of crisis they look for ways to help other children in need. Setting up this relief effort is a great opportunity for kids to get involved and to help children who are suffering in Asia. This effort is about helping others and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to support the children and families who are suffering from this tragedy."
For more information on Save the Children and UNICEF, visit www.savethechildren.org and www.unicef.org.
About Build-A-Bear Workshop(R) Giving Programs
Build-A-Bear Workshop is committed to improving communities and impacting lives through meaningful philanthropic programs that support causes for children, families and animals. The company does this in a number of ways including Stuffed with Hugs(TM), the company signature charitable program, which is now in its fifth year. Additionally, the mission of the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation is to direct funds to children's health and wellness, literacy, the preservation of endangered animals and their habitats, and the support of local animal shelters.
About Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) is an interactive, entertainment, mall-based retailer that invites Guests of all ages to create their own customized stuffed animals through an exciting bear-making process. The first store opened in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1997, and the company now operates over 170 locations in the U.S. with five stores in Canada. Build-A-Bear Workshop opened its first international store in Sheffield, England in the fall of 2003, added additional international stores in Japan, Korea, Denmark and Australia in 2004 and plans to open its first store in Taiwan in 2005 making it the global leader in the teddy bear business. Based on a survey compiled by Shopping Centers Today, a publication of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC),
Build-A-Bear Workshop was one of six retailers chosen and presented with the ICSC "2004 Hot Retailer Award". In addition, the company won the National Retail Federation's International 2001 Retail Innovator of the Year-Global winner award. In 2004, Maxine Clark, Founder and Chief Executive Bear was one of three finalists in retail for the Ernst and Young National Entrepreneur of the Year award. For more information on the company and its products call (877) 789-BEAR (2327) or visit the company's award-winning website at www.buildabear.com.
