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Brooks’ Bereavement Bears, a local nonprofit supporting women who experience pregnancy loss, has given out more than 300 teddy bears to comfort patients during their time of need at Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, Aultman Hospital and Stark Women’s Center.
The nonprofit was created after founder Taylor Prelac lost her pregnancy in April 2020 in the height of COVID-19 and was comforted by a teddy bear gifted to her as she found herself experiencing the unimaginable loss alone.
When she learned that she was pregnant again months later with her son Brooks, Prelac decided to buy a couple of the same bears she received, put a pink and blue ribbon on them and attach a message of hope and love before donating them to the same hospital to comfort other women.
After Brooks was born almost exactly a year after the day of her loss, she decided to pursue the idea of making these bears into a nonprofit. Today, the organization has given out hundreds of bears to support women across Ohio.
Prelac writes the personal note attached to each bear, and she has a team of six volunteers who help tie ribbons and deliver bears to the medical centers.
“It means a lot to me that the mom I’m writing this to knows they aren’t alone,” she said. “I know exactly how they are feeling, and I want them to be comforted.”
The response from the community has consisted of many tear-filled phone calls and grateful texts and emails. Meeting other victims of pregnancy loss through events has brought an even deeper level of connection, and one young son even went out of his way to thank Prelac for her influence on his mother, who had received a bear minutes earlier.
“This is my way of keeping my memory of my child alive and making sure that other women don’t go through a loss alone,” said Prelac. “I am so very proud to do what I do — it helps me grieve and start to heal. Miscarriages are not often talked about because it is seen as a taboo subject, and I am here to change that.”
Learn more about Brooks’ Bereavement Bears at www.brooksbereavementbears.com.