BILLINGS — Sandy McCaffree, the founder of Billings-based nonprofit Blankets and Bears, has spent the last two decades serving children in Montana. Now, she’s adding another chapter to her story.
Blankets and Bears has provided children with blankets, pillows, and stuffed animal bundles to children all across Yellowstone County for over 20 years. Since starting the nonprofit in 2005, McCaffree has donated between 600 and 900 nighttime bundles annually.
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“Every child needs something warm and something to cuddle to and something to make them feel warm, safe, and loved," said McCaffree. “There's children in every little nook and cranny of our city that needs something."
Along the way, McCaffree has had help from her business partner Robin Eppard, who started working together after discovering Eppard's Etsy store selling crochet animals online.
Based in Minnesota, Eppard has crocheted and donated hundreds of white bears to the cause since 2009. Her stuffed bear has even become commonly associated with the Blankets and Bears branding.
“Over time, I would make 25, 30, 40, 50. Eventually, I've done hundreds of bears for Blankets and Bears because it's such an amazing cause," said Eppard. "Knowing that it photographed so well and it really becomes a character, that kind of became somewhat Blankets and Bears. When people would see it, they would know that's Blankets and Bears."
Thousands of children have received a nighttime bundle from McCaffree, so her newest venture just naturally made sense by adding a children's book.
“Every child needs a book just as much as they need a blanket and a teddy bear and a warm pillow," said McCaffree. "I thought, what if I wrote a little children's book where if they couldn't read yet, they would have something to look at.”
McCaffree began the process last March, and by December, her book, "Forever Little Bear," was fully published. The book tells the story of a little girl who is gifted a stuffed bear and how she grows up with it before giving the bear to another little girl once she becomes an adult.
“It teaches a story. It teaches them how to love, protect, care, be kind because that's what you do with a forever friend," said McCaffree. "It teaches them to learn to let go, to learn to give, re-gift, and pass on something that meant so much more to them to someone else.”
The little bear in the story is even modeled after Eppard's own crocheted creation.
"When Sandy was thinking about doing a book, she was like, 'Do you mind if I use one of your bears for the character in the story?' and I said, 'I would be so honored,'” said Eppard.
McCaffree found her illustrator, Victoria Medi, out of Bangladesh. Thanks to Eppard's personal connections to the publishing world, it did not take long for "Forever Little Bear" to come to fruition.
"It was so fantastic because my son actually owns a children's book publishing company, and then I used to work for a corporation that also manufactures books," said Eppard.
The two celebrated the launch of the book on Feb. 22 with multiple book signings and readings at House of Books and Barnes and Noble in Billings.
Staying true to her giving spirit, McCaffree has plans to distribute the book widely. For every book sold, three additional copies will be purchased to be donated. The books will soon be available to all students in Billings Public Schools elementary schools and the author hopes to eventually distribute them to hospitals, libraries, and pediatric centers.
"It's been such a pleasure to do this," said McCaffree. "It's been real gratifying because I've run across more and more needs of the children in our community, and this just resonates with the school kids that are so involved with learning to read and wanting to read and having access to good books.”
McCaffree’s new venture adds another layer to her decades-long commitment to serving children in the community and will ensure no child goes without a good book to snuggle up to.
“Sandy's an amazing human being. She just really is. Her heart is so big, and all she really wants to do is make children's lives better," said Eppard. "It truly is a forever little bear. Hopefully, somebody finds a book that they'll read to their kids forever and ever, and then their kids will read it to their kids."
“This just adds another layer onto my gift for the children in our community. It's just something that I know that they need, they want, they can have," added McCaffree.
To purchase a copy of "Forever Little Bear," click here.
