Bear shenanigans raise $15,000: ‘Something fun to look forward to that wasn’t touched by COVID or politics’ – Progress Index

Retired stay-at-home mom shares why she devoted an entire year to cheer up the nation by creating over 200 fun bear scenes on her front lawn.

A young at heart 59-year-old plays with teddy bears in an astronomical way.

Laura Snyder who is a retired, stay-at-home mom rises in the morning with a grateful heart and counts her blessings.

In February, a post showed up on my Facebook feed that made me smile, and I'm excited to share her "beary" cool mission of love with you.

Snyder who lives life to its fullest and faces all that it presents impacted the world with her compassionate and playful spirit during a time when people needed it the most.

Like many cities across the nation, Snyder's hometown of Yorba Linda, California encouraged neighborhood bear hunts for families going stir-crazy from being cooped up.

Teddy bears were placed in windows so that families quarantined due to the pandemic could partake in a fun, safe, and exciting adventure spotting the plush, cuddly toys.

Snyder's jumbo-sized bears Goldie and Brownie were too big to place in her windows, so she took bear hunting to a new extreme.

When Snyder placed her furry friends in her front yard sitting in camping chairs on March 22 last year, she had no intentions of going beyond that first bear scene. But, over 200 more were designed with the help of her husband Jerry, and their three grown children.

"I never had done anything like this before," said Snyder. "I started doing the bear hunt because it sounded fun."

Snyder first heard of bear hunts on the news a few days before Yorba Linda made an official announcement to participate locally.

In the beginning, Goldie and Brownie appeared in simple scenes posed with props such as sporting goods, toys, and household items. Then, the themes became more elaborate. Laura and her family enjoyed entertaining everyone while they stayed quarantined.

"My husband and I would talk in the morning over coffee about what the bears would do today," shared Snyder. "It gave me something to work on when everything else had closed down. I started borrowing and making stuff to fill in a story or idea."

I asked Snyder how the heck she acquired all of the coffee containers she used in some scenes.

"LOL! Funny thing about those...I started saving them when I noticed my grandbaby playing with them; stacking two of them on top of each other," said Snyder. "After that, I saved all of them and we had enough to stack towers and castles.

"I drink a lot of coffee but it still took a couple of years to accumulate that many," said Snyder. "I thought it would be funny to use them for the bears."

Each time Snyder switched the bears' activity, it was like turning the page of a storybook to see the next fabulous illustration.

"I saw comments and had conversations that overwhelmed me with the gratitude others felt for having something to look forward to every day," said Snyder. "I was truly humbled by this."

Snyder's mom was thrilled when she found out The Progress-Index wanted to feature her daughter's yearlong act of kindness during this unprecedented time of uncertainty.

"I'm thrilled that the bears will reach more people because they have a way of lifting spirits," said Snyder's 81-year-old mom Edna Jones. "We all need all the help we can get in these days and times."

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For most, providing bear hunts was short-lived, so what inspired Snyder to continue with her fun, arduous journey?

"I saw my bears being posted on a community Facebook page by a neighbor that I hadn't met yet," said Snyder. "The comments on those posts, the conversations with people walking by, and eventually comments and messages from social media kept reinforcing that there were people that needed the bears."

Snyder triesto keep the real world separate from the bears' world.

"I wanted to give people something fun to look forward to that wasn't touched by COVID or politics," said Snyder.

Snyder's creative juices stop flowing on May 30.

"I usually decide what the bears are doing today as I'm having my morning coffee. This morning my heart is breaking at the ugliness of ALL of this and I couldn't bring myself to try to put on a cheerful show," posted Snyder. "I'm trying to figure out how to not let the ugliness win. Please join me."

"Violence is ugly, people treating other people badly is ugly, injustice is ugly, feeling like we will never get this fixed is ugly," said Snyder. "All of this was the biggest news of the day on May 29, 2020. Please join me...was an invitation to reach out and help with the healing."

When did Goldie and Brownie join the Snyder family?

"We had the bears for a couple of years before the bear hunt. My husband bought one from Costco. "It was fun to have around, so he picked up another one when Costco restocked them."

For $40 apiece, the bears have provided an enormous amount of joy.

"The bears were part of the family before all of this." shared Snyder. "I talk to them, and my grandkids play with them. They were pulling shenanigans before they were front yard performers and will continue after they retire from public life."

"I rarely know what they are definitely doing tomorrow," said Snyder. "Sometimes, I'd wake up and tear around like I'm on that cooking show 'Chopped'. What can I make with what I have in this basket?"

According to Executive Chef Snyder, she came up with most of the bear themes, but her sous-chef and team came up with quite a few ideas which she turned into a story.

It was hard for Snyder to pick a favorite bear scene.

"I'll say the car wash day. I got to use my wacky, waving, inflatable tube guy we call Frank to help it look like a real car wash," said Snyder. "I really got into the details of the story. The 4x4 car had mud splashes, and the car in the front of the line was 'beary' clean."

"On the day I had set up the farmers market, it started drizzling so I set up the canopy that I used when I had a craft show booth," said Snyder. "I had to use it on Easter Sunday too. The bears were already 'in church' so we had to put up shelter when it started to rain.

"One time I was setting up and the sky was threatening. I kept telling myself...it will be fine, it will be fine," shared Snyder. "However, as soon as I had everything in place it started pouring. Everything back in...hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Due to weather issues, Snyder created indoor bear scenes as well but admits a couple of times she did it just because she needed a break.

Based on the number of likes, comments, and shares, which three themes received the most reaction?

"The best I can figure is Star Wars Day, the dog rescue/adoption day, and the Bernie Sanders day with Baby Bear," said Snyder.

"Oooooh. Be sure Brownie doesnt get Peanut Butter and Jealous," commented Deborah Williams on Snyder's bear scene of Goldie and Bernie Sanders together.

"Yay! My favorite message," commented Michele Burns Aerts referring to Snyder's dog rescue scene. "Im 'beary' grateful for you helping spread the message."

Snyder receives a special gift.

"I received a scrapbook that a woman made from my photos," shared Snyder. "She told me she worked on it while her family was in the hospital with COVID, and she could not visit them. Our bear stories gave her something positive to think about."

"My friend Chris Kettenhofen made a scrapbook of the first 100 photos of the bears shared on Facebook for me as a gift," said Snyder. "I felt it was perfect for what had been repeatedly requested of me - a book of all the bears' photos."

Lori Stenovich from the Littlest Angel Guild reached out to Snyder about making a book and offered to help make it happen.

"When Lori said her guild supportsCHOCit seemed like a perfect fit," said Snyder. "I have had a couple of brushes with the hospital and was familiar with the good they do."

Children's Hospital of Orange County [CHOC]'s mascot is a bear so Snyder thought it was meant to be.

The book laid out by Kettenhofen was provided with donations of $75 or more. The proceeds from the 165 books were presented to CHOC's Thompson Autism Center and CHOC's Palliative Care Unit benefitted from the fundraiser.

The bears go into hibernation one year and one day from when they debuted.

"March 22, 2021 was their last day," said Snyder. "It feels like now we can all finally see a light of the end of this pandemic tunnel."

What emotions are going through Snyder's mind three days after the bears went into hibernation?

"Its like the day after graduation when you dont have to be someplace and no projects are due but a little sad because this part of my life is done," said Snyder.

According to Snyder, the bears might share some of their adventures, travel, and holiday photos in the future.

"If they are ever needed again to help our neighbors they will be here for them," said Snyder.

I asked Snyder what she received personally from providing this 'beary' wonderful, visual, uplifting, positive gift to the world.

"When I want to remember a time I made a difference in someone's life, and, I think we all want to do that in some way," said Snyder. "I will remember how many people let me know how much they needed the bears and how it helped them get through the pandemic."

"I just didnt have the words for how I was feeling this morning," said Snyder in her final bear photo caption. "Lucky for me, Winnie the Pooh did: How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

"Near or far, we loved the bears for the year and Snyder's selflessness in faithfully setting them up," said Williams of Yorba Linda. "They brought us such joy daily."

"Thank you for doing your part to make our COVID-19 quarantine year so much more 'bearable'," posted Saul Valdez on Facebook. "And, for adopting our bear."

"Your wonderful creativity has brightened our lives. I always looked forward to seeing what the bear family was up to next," posted Lisa Peterson Hollingsworth of Nappanee, Indiana on Facebook. "Every post made me smile and often times giggle. Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing us something to look forward to during this past year when our world turned upside down. God bless you, Laura."

"You will remain a legend long after you retire," posted Helping the Behaviorally Challenging Child CEO and Founder Debra Ann Afarian on Facebook. "Thanks for a year of bright light during a year of cloudy."

Follow "lulu's big bears" on Facebook. By the way, Lulu is the nickname Snyder's family has called her since birth. To viewthe posted bear images in chronological order, go to instagram.com/lulusbigbears.

Thank you Laura for bringing joy into my heart and for making me chuckle.

Kristi K. Higgins aka The Social Butterfly is the trending topics and food Q&A reporter at The Progress-Index. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Contact Kristi (she, her) at khiggins@progress-index.com, follow @KHiggins_PI on Twitter, and subscribe to us at progress-index.com.

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Bear shenanigans raise $15,000: 'Something fun to look forward to that wasn't touched by COVID or politics' - Progress Index