Gene and Kathleen Batt of Scottsbluff give away large, plush teddy bears to help make a big difference in the community
JEFF FIELDER Editor
SCOTTSBLUFF – A few years ago, Gene and Kathleen Batt were at a banquet at Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering, and they decided to write their name down for a stuffed Dr. Kildare bear that was part of a silent auction.
The Batts ended up winning the bear, and they shipped the stuffed animal to their then 3-year-old granddaughter in California.
“We told her that we were sending her a bear, and she was really excited about it,” Gene said. “She kept asking her dad, ‘When am I going to get the bear?’”
When their granddaughter received the bear, she was grateful, but she was a little disappointed that it wasn’t bigger.
“I don’t know where she came up with the idea that we were sending her a bigger bear than what we actually sent her,” Gene said. “It’s wasn’t that big of a bear, but it was really cute.”
Nevertheless, Batt and his wife began searching for a bigger plush teddy bear to send to their granddaughter. They found one they liked in Denver, so they bought a few of the 53-inch teddy bears to give to all of their grandkids.
Not surprisingly, their grandkids fell in love with the big teddy bears, and their reaction gave Gene, who owns Western Plains Business Solutions in Scottsbluff, an idea.
“I thought it would be nice to buy more of those bears and just give them out to kids around here to help brighten their day,” he said.
The full story will appear in the April issue of Nspire Today! magazine. A one-year subscription (12 issues) is only $15. You may sign up for a subscription by sending $15 to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363, or you may pay with a credit card by calling 308-220-8865. If you would like to increase your subscription to $20, Nspire Today! will donate the extra $5 to the Golden Halo Foundation.
