The memory never left him.

At barely 12, Jared Dearth sat in a hospital room on the children’s floor of J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital clutching a stuffed monkey he’d chosen from a selection a hospital staff member brought by his room. He didn’t know then, but he would carry that little stuffed animal through his life in more ways than one.

“I squeezed the life out of that thing while I was being poked and prodded,” Dearth, from Bridgeport and a 2010 BHS graduate, remembered.

When asked what the experience of receiving a terrifying diagnosis does to you as a child, he pauses.

“It definitely makes you more resilient. Empathetic. You feel like you can handle anything.”

Dearth had been at a WVU basketball camp in Morgantown that summer when he started seeing double. His eyes went blurry. He felt sick. A trainer noticed and called his mom. She took him straight to the best facility in the region — J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, now home to WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s. There, he was diagnosed with a rare condition that required one of only a handful of neuro-ophthalmologists in the country.

“I remember telling the doctor to talk in front of me, not outside the room,” he said. “And they did. I got top-of-the-line care at WVU. What I had was rare, so being at a hospital that knew how to diagnose and handle it made all the difference.”

He still remembers the follow-up call from then-WVU men’s basketball coach John Beilein, who’d run the camp where he fell ill, a few months after he was discharged back home. Beilein had heard about the kid who left unexpectedly and wanted to make sure he was on the mend.

There were other small kindnesses. Like the trainer who first noticed him getting sick, phoning to ask how he was doing, and hospital staff who treated him like more than just another patient. Who listened. “People in West Virginia seem to care. People follow up. I wasn’t just some kid who got sick.”

That sense of care stuck with him, as did the monkey toy and, later, a stuffed lizard who became another hospital companion, another reminder that people around him cared. Now, living in Denver and serving as vice president of the WVU Rocky Mountain Alumni Chapter, Dearth still thinks about the stuffed animals that steadied him through fear.

“When you’re a kid, you’re scared and you don’t know what’s happening,” he said. “Having something to hold on to from someone who cares is comforting — at any age.”

So, when he heard about the now-formalized Bears and Blankets initiative, an alumni-led project collecting stuffed animals and blankets for young patients at WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s, he knew exactly why it mattered. And why he needed to jump in.

“This shouldn’t be a once-a-year thing,” he said. “Kids are in the hospital year-round. Let’s keep support rolling so they always have what they need.”

Each year, more than 9,000 children are admitted to WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s Hospital. Many face serious health challenges in unfamiliar surroundings. Bears and Blankets helps make those days a little softer.

The idea wasn’t new. But the momentum was. It began in Houston, Texas, with Heather Dishman, president of the Lone Star Chapter of the WVU Alumni Association. In 2016, she was looking for a way to give back to Morgantown that any alum could get behind.

“I wanted something one-size-fits-all,” she said. “Something any alum could buy, and any child could use.”

Blankets and bears were simple, universal, and comforting. That fall, her chapter held 2 watch-party collections and gathered more than 100 items.

The next year brought floods and hurricanes, but in 2018, the chapter delivered over 250 bears and blankets to WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s, rolling carts from room to room so kids could choose their favorite.

“Watching their faces light up was unforgettable,” Dishman said. “It’s a small gesture for families, but it lets kids be kids in a hard moment.”

Word spread quickly through the alumni network. In 2024, Dishman presented the program at the Alumni Leaders Institute and, by the end of the event, other chapters were asking how to join.

One of those leaders was Loren Lazear, president of the Emerald Coast Alumni Chapter in Florida. A longtime chapter volunteer, he recognized the potential. He’d launched the chapter in 2020 after moving to Florida and finding, despite plenty of Mountaineers in the area, a lack of organized community. Lazear said Bears and Blankets has served as a rallying point for his gold-and-blue family in the Sunshine State.

Last year, Emerald Coast donated 210 of the 542 total items collected nationwide. This year, they’ve already delivered 372 bears and blankets and have raised another $2,000 to buy more.

“My truck bed and back seat were full when I traveled back for the Pitt and Utah football games,” said Lazear, laughing. They’re already blowing past their goals and aiming higher.

The excitement is contagious. Chapters from coast to coast have joined in, some re-engaging after years of quiet.

“Chapters are revitalizing because of this program,” Lazear said. “It’s about kids. Your heart goes out to them. And it’s easy and affordable for people to participate.”

Dearth agrees. He’s using game-watches and social media posts to keep momentum building.

“I’d rather have a hundred people give 10 dollars than one person give a lot,” he said. “The strength is in how many people we connect.”

And that’s the hidden power of the project: it’s not only helping children in pain or fear, but also re-energizing alumni chapters and reminding Mountaineers everywhere what it feels like to be part of a community.

At WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s, the impact is felt every day.

“We still hear from patients who kept their blanket or stuffed animal for years,” said Erin Blake, associate director of community relations. “Some sleep with them as teenagers.”

Parents tell her their kids still carry the same bear they received during a hospital stay years ago.

“A soft toy or blanket can calm a scary situation and make it feel a little more normal,” she said. “Some kids arrive by ambulance or helicopter without their favorite toy. This helps.”

Child life specialists (professionals who explain procedures and use play to ease anxiety) are part of what makes WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s unique. “We’re lucky to have a child life program,” Blake said. “It’s supported through fundraising. Not every hospital can offer that.”

The same generosity that funds those roles now keeps the shelves stocked with comfort items. Blake said it’s incredible to see alumni across the country making sure every child who comes through their doors has something to hold.

Dearth looks at it as a full-circle moment. It’s proof that empathy can ripple outward. “We’re talking about the next generation,” he said. “These are kids with their whole lives ahead of them. WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s gave me great care when I needed it. Giving back just feels right.”

The movement keeps growing. Chapter by chapter, bear by bear, moment by moment. And through it all, the Mountaineer spirit that defines us all continues to bind people together: one alum remembering his own hospital stay, one chapter filling a pickup truck, one child hugging a new bear tight.