The Spotlight is on Bear Hugs for Venezuela
by Brittni Carraway
Cristal Montañéz Baylor founded the ‘Bear Hugs for Venezuela’ program in the year 2000 in response to emergency relief efforts due to the mud slides in the state of Vargas, Venezuela, that killed approximately 50,000 people.
Cristal's objective is to bring hope, joy and a smile to the faces of the Venezuelan children with the comfort and therapeutic power of teddy bears. She became a customer of Plush in a Rush in February of 2018 when she bought hundreds of bears to be used to bring hope and smiles to the faces of the children affected by the tragic humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. She sent us pictures of our bears being shared with the refugees and migrants at a food distribution center in Colombia.
Cristal’s program also gives out coloring books, crayons, blankets, toothbrushes and toothpaste, pediatric acetaminophen, electrolytes, probiotics, and meal packs with vitamins for all the refugees and their families.
And thanks to her, hundreds of Venezuelan refugee children now have a new furry friend to play with and keep them company as they navigate their new lives as refugees in a foreign country.
We want to thank Cristal for her extraordinary efforts and for being a customer of ours for an incredible cause. Visit Bear Hugs for Venezuela to learn more and donate.
