By Ruth SOWBY

USC Keck-VHH nurses teamed up with donors from Bloomingdale’s Glendale, the hospital Foundation, and the community to make magic happen in the form of little stuffed bears. 

For the second year, Project Hug-a-Bear is about “brightening patients’ holidays at a time when they are not able to be home with family and friends,” said donor Vic Pallos.  

The project was launched on Dec. 21 when the hospital’s fourth floor lobby filled with dozens of nurses, Foundation board members, hospital administrators, donors (including two Bloomingdale’s staff members) and 35 stuffed bears. During the days that followed, the nurses made their bear deliveries. If previous years were any indication, Teddy bears aren’t just for kids; they can bring comfort to adults as well.

Robert Burnett, Bloomingdale’s Customer Experience leader, visited patients last Christmas season and saw them, young and old, “light up” when they received their new bear. Burnett was joined this year by Morgan Lobell, also from Bloomingdale’s Glendale. 

Chloe Ross, Foundation board member and second-year project donor, said, “Patients cried when they received their bear … but they were tears of joy.”