Bear Hugs at United Center

Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation

This past Saturday I donated a canvas gallery wrap to the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation‘s annual Bear Tie Ball. I was really happy to learn the winning bidder paid $550 for it, but was even more shocked when I learned that Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation raised over $650,000 that night!  The money raised is used for children battling cancer with funds going to support research, and the immediate needs of our kids through their  Bear Hug program – the very program that made this photo possible.

The exchange I captured was pure luck. At the time I captured this image (November 2011) I was just a fan attending the game with a good angle on the puck drop…and a telephoto lens. I was pretty certain I had photographed something special and knew I had to get this image to this boy’s family.

When I got home I was able to track this opportunity back to Bear Necessities and I’ve been working with them ever since. If you’re asking yourself why I’m posting this, it’s simply to bring awareness to an awesome organization that I’ve grown quite close to over the years. DONATE HERE