Dad Searching for 4-Year-Old's Bear That Plays Late Mom's Heartbeat and Was Accidentally Donated to Goodwill

Build-A-Bear.Photo: Build-A-Bear

When a young Tennessee girl’s teddy bear was accidentally donated and sold at a local Goodwill, she lost more than just a favorite stuffed animal. It was also a reminder of her late mother. Now, their community is coming together to try and help.

“Her grandma made her [a] bear with her mom’s heartbeat in it,” Kennedy told the outlet, sharing that you can hear the sound when you squeeze the tie-dyed rainbow bear’s paw.

Unfortunately, that bear somehow got inside a bag of donations he recently dropped off at a Goodwill store in Tazewell.

As for why the stuffed animal sold so quickly, that’s likely because it was from Build-A-Bear.

“Build-a-Bears are so recognizable,” says the rep. “If you see a Build-a-Bear at a thrift store, a lot of people will grab it. They’re one of a kind.”

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Now, they’re just hoping the story has a happy ending.

“Our heart breaks for the family,” adds the rep. “We have a sign on our door as well for customers, making them aware and doing everything that we can to try to help that family find the bear.”

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“PLEASE if you have it, return to this store so we can reunite them,” reads the notice.

Additionally, the girl’s grandmother shared avideo of the actual lost bearwith the station, so that anybody searching for it would know what to look (and listen) for.

So far, Goodwill has received many messages from people calling to say they hope the bear is found.

“I can tell you, there’s a reason we’re called the Volunteer State,” says Dodson. “Everybody rallies around to try to help. There are no strangers whenever something comes up. Everybody wants to try to help.”

If returned, the person will be reimbursed for the purchase.

The girl’s father is joining Goodwill in asking whoever purchased it to turn it into the store.

As of Monday, Build-A-Bear Workshop also shared the story on their Facebook page, writing, “Let’s help find this bear!”

source: people.com