 |  |  |
| | |
| Hills Resident helps school raise funds through sale of bean-bag bears
By Allison Hansen Anaheim Hills News Derrick Johnson is 6 feet 3 1/2 inches tall, so it might be hard to imagine he's in the business of selling stuffed bears. But that's exactly what the Hills resident sells plush bean-bag bears to be precise. "He's a big bear himself," laughed Patty Setter, Johnson's wife and partner in weddingbears.com The two began the company more than a year ago when Johnson, who also owns Step Up to the Plate, a sports memorabilia company, designed promotional bears for sports teams such as the Mighty Ducks. Setter later persuaded Johnson to design wedding-themed bears. Recently the two have added school-themed bears to their list, attracting attention from students and parents throughout Orange County. The small plush bears have already been used to raise funds for campus organizations at Esperanza High School in Anaheim and most recently at El Dorado High School in Placentia. "People are sick of the candy and the wrapping paper, you know the usual fundraising stuff," Johnson said. "The bears are cute, they (are printed with) the school's name and besides, you won't get fat with them." |
Johnson designs the logo placement and color scheme for the bears and places an order with a company in China. The bears- which come in cloros ranging from powder blue to gold and feature embroidered logos and/or names- are then sold through various organizations for $ 10 each. Schools and the other organizations which sell the bears net half of the purchase price.
Heather Shanahan, a sophomore who plays the saxaphone in the Esperanza High band, approached Johnson and Setter when the band was looking to raise money to attend a recital in Hawaii. After getting the band boosters- the Esperanza Entertainment Unit- to sponsor the fund-raiser, the bears were ordered and the students began selling. Esperanza band members sold 120 of the bears the first day, Shanahan said. :I was looking on the Internet and I saw that one single (Ty) Beanie Baby was being sold for a $100," said Shanahan, while holding the bright maroon Esperanza bear. "I thought why not sell the same thing with the school's name on it?" Fueled by strong sales at Esperanza, other schools such as El Dorado High also have picked up on the fundraiser. Band members at El Dorado are selling the bears to raise money for a trip to the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. "The bean bears are flying out of their little boxes, they're selling so fast," said Lois Monroe, whose daughter Sara is a member of the El Dorado band. "They're great because you can give them for graduation or a gift. My son gave his girlfriend one and she thought it was adorable." | She said the band has raised apporximately $175,000 needed for the trip- through fund-raisers including bear sales. Monroe, who has participated in many fund-raising events, said she and several other mothers feel the bears add variety to the typical selection of fund raising merchandise.
"Mothers are coming up to me and saying "how wonderful that they're selling bears now." Monroe said. "They're like wildfire- they have just caught on."
Johnson agreed, "Once a whole bunch of schools get them, (others) willk follow." Despite the success of the school bears, Johnson said initially he didn't want to design them. "I told him, "honey it's a moneymaker," Setter said. "He's really the salesman and I'm the administrator." In the future, Johnson and Setter want to expand their designs to include celebrity bears, Johnson has already completed the design for an Elian Gonzales bear. The bear wears a baseball cap and has an American flag embroidered on one arm and a Cuban flag on the other. "Hey it's controversial- it sells," Johnson laughed. For more information about the bears, call (714) 970-1062 or log onto weddingbears.com. |