Building Loving Memories
Helping families create a meaningful way to honor the memories of terminally ill or stillborn siblings
About Us
Caden’s Cubs is a ministry designed to help parents lead their children through the process of grieving and honoring the memory of a terminally ill or stillborn sibling. It’s often difficult for kids to process the enormity of this kind of loss. Caden’s Cubs helps families engage that process by providing a Build-a-Bear gift card for each child, allowing them to create a positive way to celebrate and remember.
Receiving Hope
Our goal is to provide one Build-a-Bear gift card to each sibling in families working through this difficult season. The gift card is generally enough to cover one animal and an outfit. Our hope is that these toys will help support parents as they guide their children through the different stages of the grieving process.
Click the button below to connect with us about the next steps.
Giving Hope
At Caden’s Cubs we provide this service of love and support to families free of charge or obligation. This is only possible through the generosity of families and individuals in our community, as well as through our ongoing collaboration with Alexandra’s House. If you’d like to partner with us in this important and meaningful work, click the button below to visit the Alexandra’s House website.
Please specify that your gift is for Caden’s Cubs. All gifts are tax deductible.
Our story
“In March of 2008, at our routine 20 week ultrasound, we learned that our baby would not survive outside the womb. Our lives changed forever in that moment. Despite the terminal diagnosis, we chose to continue our pregnancy and our son, Caden Adair, was born on June 30, 2008. His spirit was in Heaven when they placed him in our arms.
There were many difficult moments following Caden’s diagnosis. Our greatest challenge, we felt, was providing comfort to Caden’s older brother (Connor) and sister (Kylee), 6 and 4 years old at the time, who were trying to comprehend what it meant to not be able to bring home our baby. We found that they grieved and celebrated their brother in a way that was very profound.
Some friends of ours gave Connor and Kylee money to spend at the Build-A-Bear Workshop so that they could create something tangible and cuddly to hold as they remembered their baby brother. Shortly after we met and told Caden goodbye, we took Connor and Kylee to make their bears in memory of him. It was one of the few joyful experiences we had in a time of such great sadness.
The bears that Connor and Kylee created have become an important part of their healing process. We decided that we wanted to offer this same experience to other families who are either preparing to deliver or have already said goodbye to a terminally ill or stillborn baby, and Caden’s Cubs was created to do just that.”
“In March of 2008, at our routine 20 week ultrasound, we learned that our baby would not survive outside the womb. Our lives changed forever in that moment. Despite the terminal diagnosis, we chose to continue our pregnancy and our son, Caden Adair, was born on June 30, 2008. His spirit was in Heaven when they placed him in our arms.
There were many difficult moments following Caden’s diagnosis. Our greatest challenge, we felt, was providing comfort to Caden’s older brother (Connor) and sister (Kylee), 6 and 4 years old at the time, who were trying to comprehend what it meant to not be able to bring home our baby. We found that they grieved and celebrated their brother in a way that was very profound.
Some friends of ours gave Connor and Kylee money to spend at the Build-A-Bear Workshop so that they could create something tangible and cuddly to hold as they remembered their baby brother. Shortly after we met and told Caden goodbye, we took Connor and Kylee to make their bears in memory of him. It was one of the few joyful experiences we had in a time of such great sadness.
The bears that Connor and Kylee created have become an important part of their healing process. We decided that we wanted to offer this same experience to other families who are either preparing to deliver or have already said goodbye to a terminally ill or stillborn baby, and Caden’s Cubs was created to do just that.”
The Carlsons
Caden’s Cubs was founded in honor of
Caden Adair Carlson
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Contact Us
We share this gift through referrals from Alexandra’s House or by direct referral. If you or someone you know would be interested in creating a keepsake for siblings, please contact us using the form.
