What Does This Look Like in Action?

Learn more about how your support helps Friends of Jack make a positive impact on the lives of children in our community

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Thanks to your generosity, last year alone we:

✅ Provided $100,000 in direct grants to support regional healthcare services for children

✅ Distributed 5,000 Hero Bears at no cost through more than 20 community partners

✅ Administered more than 250 hours of free mentoring and guidance for families experiencing a medical crises

✅ Gave away hundreds of car seats and cribs to immigrant parents of newborns

✅ Gifted $10,000 in toys for in-need children, including every student at underprivileged schools in New Bedford and Fall River

Programs and Services

While the Friends of Jack Foundation is best known for its Hero Bear program, which was created to help children in various stressful settings by providing comfort with a stuffed teddy bear and empowerment with a superhero cape and mask, it also provides funding for Child Life Specialists, the unsung heroes of the healthcare system.

Our Partners

The Friends of Jack Foundation currently partners closely with; Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, MA, Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence,RI, Boston Children’s Hospital’s North Dartmouth and Waltham satellites, and Southcoast Health’s three MA hospitals – St. Luke’s in New Bedford, Charlton Memorial in Fall River and Tobey in Wareham. It also supports social services and law enforcement, including Child and Family Services, the Women’s Center, the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Corrections, and a number of local police, fire and EMS departments, including the Massachusetts State Police.

Our Mission in Action

Back in July of 2017 when we first met with Chief Joe Cordeiro of the New Bedford Police Department and explained our Hero Bear program...

We could tell that he wasn’t sold on the idea. How could a child mixed up in a domestic violence call, for example, really benefit from a superhero mask, cape and stuffed animal given to them by the responding officer?

It wasn’t until the Chief responded to a call himself, gave the cape, mask and teddy bear to a scared and reserved young girl, and saw the instant transformation take place, that he became a believer in the power of this simple gesture.

The little girl went from silent and cowering to interacting and smiling with the Chief in only a few moments. From that point on, he understood why the mission was special and became one of its biggest supporters.

We believe that this story best exemplifies the power of the Friends of Jack Foundation’s programs.

To an outsider, it may seem simple and insignificant, but to those who have experienced it first hand, the positive impact is tangible.

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