jennatomita:

jennifersung:

jennatomita:

Hello my dear friends,

During my senior year of high school one of my friends from middle school lost his battle with cancer. It was devastating & heartbreaking but opened my eyes to a new life that I wanted to live. I wanted to live to start a cancer foundation.

So last year I started a project that I decided to raise money to buy Build-A-Bears & give to cancer patients at City of Hope during Christmas time. I collected recyclables from my sorority sisters & hallmates, I sold chocolate covered pretzels at church & got donations from friends & family. Somehow I managed to raised $1,000 when I had hoped to raise just $100. The money resulted into over 60 bears.

Crazy, right? Well it gets better. I donated all the bears to City of Hope like I planned. I handed them out at their annual Christmas Pajama Jam Party which was a life changing experience.

I was told that I would never get to go up to the hospital wing & personally hand out my bears but I was still blessed enough to give them out to the kids that were well enough to come down to enjoy some of the holiday spirit. But towards the end of the night the wife of one of the head guys in charge asked me how many bears I had left. I told her I had eight & she said, “Take them off the table. I have a surprise.” I was so confused but I did as I was told to only find out that she was taking me & a few of my sorority sisters up to the hospital wing to hand out my bears to the kids that were too sick to come down. I was so excited but my heart raced with emotions.

We got upstairs & my sisters went into the rooms to hand out bears. I resisted a little because I was so scared being in that environment. Finally the lady said, “There’s one last boy we should give a bear to. His name is Alex & it’s perfect because he’s your age. He’s 18.” I was so scared because I kept thinking this guy is going to hate me & my idea since he’s a teenage boy. I looked through my few Build-A-Bear birth certificates that I had left over & tried to find one that didn’t have such a corny name like Buttercup or something. I found one that said, Hope.

I went into the room with the lady & she did most of the talking because I was so taken back. His whole family was there which made me even more nervous. She asked him some laid back questions & his smile was flawless.

I handed him the bear & birth certificate. He started reading it & finally got to the last line.. “Made by, Jenna Tomita.” I was like, “Oh! That’s me!” We both laughed & he asked, “So.. Why are you here? What are you doing this for?” I could barely speak & my voice was cracking. But I replied saying, “I just hoped that I could make people like you have a better Christmas.” He looked at me, smiled, & said, “Thank God for people like you.” I left the room in tears.

A few days after the Christmas party I realized fate had played a role that night. Although I had raised enough money for over 60 bears, only one bear was made by me. All the rest were made by my friends & sister. How was it possible that I handed out 60 birth certificates randomly throughout the night & Alex ended up with mine.

It amazes me how things played out. But that night fate & Alex is the reason why I can’t walk away from this project. I’m trying it again with a goal of $1,500 but I definitely can’t do this on my own. I’m currently selling bracelets for $3. I know $3 is a lot for a piece of rubber but there is so much more behind that money.

On the outside of the bracelet it says, “Hope. Strength. Believe.” & has cancer ribbons. These words are so powerful to me. I put these words on the shirts that I put on the bears. They are so powerful that they speak for themselves.

On the inside of the bracelet it says, “Bear With It & Keep Fighting.” It’s the name of my project because it reminds me & hopefully everyone that takes part in this that today may not have been the best, but we can always fight for a better tomorrow.

If you can help support me with this project, please let me know if you would like to buy a bracelet. Hit me with an e-mail at Jennatomita@gmail.com :)

This project has been a tough one. I constantly struggle with it because I’m still learning through the process. So if you can’t donate through monetary donations, prayers are greatly appreciated too!

Please help me spread the word. Tell your friends & family. Reblog. Support.

Everything is appreciated from the bottom of my heart. Please help me make a difference <3

support & reblog :)

Thank you for all the love & support! Please continue to spread the love & help get word out. I appreciate all that everyone has done so far <3 It’s only gonna get better from here :)

xo, please reblog & keep this going!

Please give this a look and support with love!!!