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A Few additional links about the story:

http://www.thesouthern.com/articles/2005/04/10/local/101857.txt

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2005/01/27/local/doc41f8e6d26aee3848164684.txt

http://www.cartervillelions.com/highsch/teddybear.htm

http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=1390151

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/rednews/2003/08/04/build/top/TOP001.html

http://www.cartervillelions.com/intersch/teachers/shepard.html
A BEAR OF A TOURNAMENT
 
Wiffleball Tournament raises $2,000 for the Connor Fenton Memorial Scholarship Fund by Samantha Hale, The Carterville Courier August 8, 2005
 
After spending three long, hot summer months preparing for the wiffleball tournament they had organized to help raise money for their deceased friend's scholarhsip fund, Carterville seventh-graders Miriah Chapman and Allyson Mitchell recognized a pretty significant error among their many plans.
Mitchell had a softball tournament several hours away in a different state the exact same day as the wiffleball tournament.
Despite the scheduling error, the Connor Fenton memorial Scholarship Wiffleball Tournament went on to hit a home run Aug. 6 as 17 teams and various local businesses helped the girls raise more than $2,000 in memory of their late friend.  Connor had been best friends with Chapman prior to her death two years ago in a tragic incident of domestic violence.
According to Miriah's mother, Kandi Chapman, who organized the scholarship fund, Connor's classmates pulled together in an effort to raise money for the fund, which will be given to a graduating Carterville High School senior in 2011, the year Connor would have graduated.
"The support that we have received from everyone has been great," Kandi said.  "It's great to see this kind of support from her classmates."
Before her death, Connor and Miriah created the Bears For BooBoos Foundation for which the girls collected and distributed teddy bears to local care centers and hospitals.
Following Connor's death, Miriah decided to continue collecting and donating the teddy bears in honor of her late friend.  Over the last two years, the Chapman family has collected about 9,000 bears.
According to Miriah, the decision to have a wiffleball tournamament was an easy one, considering the girls' love of softball.  Miriah was also able to incorporate the bear drive into the event with each registered wiffleball team required to bring at least one teddy bear.
"Allyson and I had been planning this since the beginning of the summer, " Miriah said.  "We walked around town, gave out sponsor letters and put flyers up everywhere.  I'm really surprised at how big this became."
Teams such as W.O.W. the Women of Wiffle, the Pink Ladies and the Crazy Gophers competed for the championship Saturday.  The champions later played the Saluki Bombers, a team featuring SIU Women's basketball coach Dana Eikenbers and softball coach Kerri Blaylock.
Jeffery Buritsch, a seventh-grader at Carterville Intermediate School and former classmate of Connor's, competed with his team, The Yankee Doodles.  Despite the Yankees' loss, Buritsch's spirits remained high.
"The tournament has been really successful, " Buritsch said.  "I'm just out here trying to raise money for the scholarhsip and having fun."
While the tournament was more successful than anyone had anticipated, Connor's classmates are already hard at work planning more events to raise money for the scholarship fund.  Future plans include basketball tournaments, car washes and bake sales.
According to Kandi Chapman, events such as Saturday's Wiffleball Tournament have helped Connor's classmates and best friends deal with the loss of a such a bright little girl.
"I would really like to see the whole class getting together every year and doing something like this for the scholarship, " Kandi said.  "I think this is their way of keeping Connor with them until they graduate."

 

HER MEMORY LIVES ON:

MORE THAN 1,700 TEDDY BEARS DONATED IN HONOR OF CONNOR FENTON

BY JOHN D. HOMAN
THE SOUTHERN
[Tue Aug 03 2004]

CARBONDALE -- Dana Fenton did her best to fight back the tears.

But when she saw her good friends, the Chapmans, pull up to the Southern Illinois Healthcare office at the University Mall Monday morning with a truckload of teddy bears, the floodgates opened.

Brian, Kandi, Miriah, and Jake Chapman of Carterville were delivering dozens of bags of stuffed bears (more than 1,700 in all) soon to be distributed to area SIH hospitals, clinics, and crisis centers.

The bear collection was the brainchild of Fenton's late daughter, Connor, and Miriah. Connor, a 10-year-old fifth-grader, was killed by her father during a domestic incident a year ago today.

The two girls wanted to help bring some joy to children spending time in hospitals by presenting them with a teddy bear. In fact, they delivered dozens of bears to a St. Louis hospital not long before Connor died. After Connor's passing, Miriah still wanted to continue with the project in an effort to make the public more aware of domestic violence.

With the help of many new-found friends, the project, as well as Connor's memory, lives on today.

"I think Connor would be overwhelmed like the rest of us if she could see all these bears," said Miriah, now an 11-year-old sixth-grader. "A lot of our friends from school have helped out a lot -- helped with both collecting the bears and then tagging them. Everything's gone real well."

Kandi Chapman concurred.

"We went from 400 bears a year ago to more than 6,000 collected in all," she said. "We donated a thousand to the American Red Cross and another thousand to local nursing homes and churches. We've donated some to the Marion Police Department and will donate some to the Department of Children and Family Services.

"We've even raised more than $5,000 in a scholarship fund, which we will give away to graduating seniors from Connor and Miriah's class at Carterville in 2011."

Kandi said she is proud of the work her daughter has done.

"This is a project the girls did together and she wants to continue with it," she said.

Brian Chapman said that's fine with him.

"We've filled two of my office suites in Herrin with the bears," he said. "They won't fit anywhere else. We don't have the room at our house. But as long as she wants to do this, it's fine with me."

Dana Fenton, a physician relations manager for SIH, said the last year has been difficult for her and her family, but the road to recovery would have been much tougher had it not been for friends like the Chapmans.

"I'd like to tell everybody thanks for all the cards and donations of bears and money," Fenton said. "I've had people I don't even know telling me how much they care about me. And that means a lot to me. It just goes to show you how a community really can make a difference. Maybe these teddy bears can now give comfort and support to children in pain."

Susan Roark, administrative assistant to the president at SIH, said the 1,700 bears that were delivered Monday to the agency would find homes with children at all area SIH hospitals -- Carbondale, Murphysboro, Herrin, West Frankfort and Eldorado.

"We hope to get them all distributed within the next two weeks," Roark said. "We think it's an absolutely wonderful effort on everyone's part. Many of our employees donated bears. It's a great cause."

john.homan@thesouthern.com 618-997-3356 x15807


Girl donates 250 stuffed bears to hospital

BY JOHN D. HOMAN
the southern

MARION - The girl who doesn't know the meaning of quit is at it again. Miriah Chapman, the 12-year-old sixth-grader from Carterville, made another delivery of stuffed bears Friday - 250 plus - to the children who are patients at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion.

For three years now, Chapman has been collecting bears and distributing them to various local hospitals, clinics and emergency facilities. She started the project with her good friend, the late Connor Fenton. The two girls wanted to help bring some joy to children spending time in hospitals by presenting each child with a teddy bear.

In fact, they delivered dozens of bears to a St. Louis hospital not long before Connor died of domestic violence. After Connor's death, Miriah still wanted to continue with the project in an effort to make the public more aware of domestic violence.

"The best part for me about doing this is hearing stories about younger children in hospitals who sleep or cuddle with their bears at night," Chapman said. "I'll continue to collect more bears and distribute them as long as people are still interested in donating them to our (Boo Boos for Bears) foundation."

Somewhat of a celebrity in her west Williamson County community because of the publicity she has received with the project, Chapman said she was a guest of the St. Louis-based "Steve and D.C." radio show Friday morning at the crack of dawn.

Her father, Brian Chapman, said since the spot aired, many of the show's fans around the country have e-mailed the family and are setting up bear collection sites.

At Heartland, the bears were distributed to the emergency room, same-day surgery and medical units. In fact, one 6-year-old boy, recovering from an illness in the medical unit,

was surprised and pleased to receive a "Build-A-Bear" with accompanying T-shirt.

Jo Sanders, marketing and community coordinator for the hospital, said the bears mostly benefit children, but there are some special cases where they might be distributed to adults in pain.

"I can remember my father holding onto a stuffed cat when he was in the hospital a few years ago and how much it meant to him," Sanders said.

"We very much appreciate what Miriah is doing here today, thinking about us with this donation. There are many times the nurses are able to use the bears as a distraction for the children when they are doing a procedure. The bears help the kids get their minds off their discomfort."
 

...A Legacy to Connor