Ashleigh Smiley, Agrace Hospice Volunteer Coordinator and McFarland Lioness/Lions members Sue Tuecke, Colleen McCormick, and Pat Zapp are pictured with a few of the teddy bears donated by the McFarland Lioness/Lions Club to the Agrace Hospice Care patients.
Ashleigh Smiley, Agrace Hospice Volunteer Coordinator and McFarland Lioness/Lions members Sue Tuecke, Colleen McCormick, and Pat Zapp are pictured with a few of the teddy bears donated by the McFarland Lioness/Lions Club to the Agrace Hospice Care patients.
Agrace Hospice Care Dori Bear Program. Nearly 1900 new teddy bears have been donated to the program by Club members over the last 17 years.
Doris Klubertanz, a local member of the McFarland Community, was the inspiration for the Dori Bear Program. She collected teddy bears throughout her life, believing they brought comfort and warmth to people of all ages. When she passed away in 1994, her family donated her entire collection to Agrace and made a gift to establish the Dori Bear Program. The program’s teddy bears have been used over the years to bring comfort to Agrace Hospice Care’s patients and their family members when staff notice a need.
The Dori Bear Program is community supported. Agrace Hospice welcomes donations of bears by the Madison area community throughout the year. During 2021 Agrace Hospice served 4500-5000 patients. During that year over 2000 teddy bears were given to patients and family members for comfort. In addition to providing teddy bears to Agrace Hospice Care patients and their family members, the Dori Bear Program also provided teddy bears to over 100 children attending Family Grief Support groups in the Madison Metropolitan School District this past year.
The McFarland Lioness/Lions Club encourages members of the McFarland Community to support the Dori Bear Program. Agrace notes that 10-12 inch new bears work best for the program’s needs. Anyone interested in supporting this program can contact Agrace Hospice at 800-553-4289. Members of the McFarland Community are also welcome to contact McFarland Lioness/Lion Club member Colleen McCormick at cmmccormick77@gmail.com or 608-838-3711 with any questions about the Dori Bear Program or to make a donation.
A special tag is placed on each bear before it is given away which includes the following quote by Dori Klubertanz, “Bears are always there to listen; they keep secrets well and they don’t mind if you cry”.
