Making Separation ‘Bear-able"

Re-Recordable, Hug Activated MyHuggy Bear Offers Comfort to Military Children


By: Jessie Ellefson
It was a day that would change Delberta
“Lee” Cotcher’s life forever as she and her
children piled into the car that afternoon; their
world turned upside down in a split second
when a drunk driver plowed through their
vehicle, fl eeing the scene and leaving the
expecting mother and her children to fi ght
for their lives.
Not only did Lee lose the unborn baby she
was carrying, but 15-month-old Ralph was
pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital
after being unconscious for 14 minutes.
Miraculously, Ralph was revived but not
without having suffered severe neurological
injuries that, among other things, left the 1-
year-old blind.
During the following 11 years, Lee and her
husband Jack focused their attention daily
on Ralph, determined to help him become as
self-reliant and high functioning as possible,
which meant less interaction with their other
two children.
It was that time when MyHuggy, a 20-minute,
high quality, recordable, hug activated
bear, was born.
The fi rst bear, created by Lee, was homemade
with a tape recorder attached to a turkey
baster top, placed in the
bear’s belly. When the bear
was hugged, the baster
activated the play button
and the bear
would talk.
An instant hit, the bear reminded Lee’s children
daily that they were loved and it helped
to fi ll the lonely void when she was spending
time with Ralph.
In the time to follow, Lee and her family
would experience what doctors referred to as a
miracle as Ralph’s eyesight was fully restored,
and the grateful mother made a promise to
God to help other children in need.
Welcoming troubled teenagers into her
home, Lee became dedicated to making a difference
in their lives, and after her youngest
son Steve returned from deployment with the
Marine Corps, she soon realized another way
she could give back to children.
Steve, who had left behind his young wife
and 2-year-old son, was broken hearted when
he returned home to fi nd that his own son no
longer recognized him.
“I saw the pain and the disappointment
in his eyes,” Lee remembers. “He had gone
through so much during his deployment and
now had to go through more pain.”
Seeing the effects that Steve’s deployment
had on his son, Lee began to think of a way to
help all military children and, by pulling all of
her resources together, she took steps to get
the MyHuggy Bear manufactured.
With the MyHuggy
Bear brought out of
retirement, Steve
vowed that “no
one else will
experience
this kind of pain,
if I can help it.”
Since the
hug-activated
bear’s recordi
n g d e v i c e
holds up to 20
minutes of high
quality recording
(and rerecordable)
t i m e , t h e
bear has become
an ideal
way for military
personnel,
grandparents
and parents,
d i s t a n t
relatives,
e t c . , t o
p l a c e
in the
hands
of their
l o v e d
ones, the comforting
sounds of their voice.
Personally funding all of the bears manufactured,
Lee and her family would donate them
to anyone in need who contacted them.
Today, with their offi ce now located in Lafayette,
the Cotcher family accepts donations
from anyone willing to help them continue
their mission and sells the bears for $40, with
the funds going towards the manufacturing
of the donated bears.
“It’s incredible what people will
do to help others,” Lee remarked.
“We live in a very giving country and
a way for every individual to play a
part, is to show others that we care
about them. This whole experience has
been very humbling and very emotional.
Being a part of this project has healed a lot
of Steve’s nightmares. He feels good knowing
he’s helping others being deployed. He
knows what they’re feeling and what they’re
going through and wants them to know that
we care.”
Since beginning the MyHuggy Bear project,
Lee and Steve and the many volunteers
who have joined them in their efforts,
have donated approximately 6,000 bears
to those in need and have gained sponsorship
from many corporations to help raise
funds and awareness.
The Cotcher family has raised awareness
by appearing on numerous talk
shows including Montel Williams and
documenting MyHuggy experience
testimonials on their
website.
One such testimonial
from a woman in
California, reads as
follows:
“My husband
left last month for
overseas, he will
be deployed for six
months. Before leaving,
he recorded how
much he loved his 3-
year-old son, as well
as recording his favorite
bedtime story.
Our son takes your
bear everywhere,
hugging it, hearing
daddy, and
talking about
his daddy. He
was use to his
dad being gone
for periods of
time; your bear
is making this
separation much
easer on every one!”
Most recently, the Wisconsin Physicians
Services (WPS) raised $13,392.50 through
several fundraisers for the MyHuggy Bear
mission to place a bear in the arms of every
child left behind due to a parents’ deployment.
“Even as things have been fi nancially diffi
cult, it’s really heartwarming to see people
donate, sometimes in great sums, to support
the troops and their families,” Lee said.
It all began with MyHuggy donating 1,500
bears for a high school in Texas, whose parents
were deployed in the military. Thus was
born “Operation Bear Drop.”
Lee and MyHuggy volunteers try to attend
every bear drop they can.
“It overcomes us at the generosity and compassion
the average person in this country has
in support of our deployed men and women,”
she remarked.
Moving to Tennessee, Lee has become
aware of over 5,000 military personnel getting
ready for deployment. She said she fi nds
Lafayette to be hospitable, gracious and she
is now eager to support those families.
“What everybody misses is that the kids are
heroes too,” Lee said. “They need to know that
their country appreciates that they’re sacrificing
a parent.”

For more information, to become a volunteer,
to share ideas about potential donations
or to make a donation to the project visit the
MyHuggy offi ce at 201 Main Street in Lafayette,
call 688-4454 or visit their website
at www.myhuggy.com.