Local mom donates stuffed bears after losing son to suicide
WAYNESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A heartbeat bear is a stuffed animal that records the heartbeat of a loved one.
For a Waynesboro mother, Nichole Tootle, her bear holds her son’s heartbeat who ed three years ago.
Now, she’s on a mission to make sure grieving families just like hers have this special memento.
In November 2020, Nichole Tootle lost her son, Kyle Knudsen, to suicide.
“Right before they took him back, I laid my head on his chest and I listened to his heartbeat for the last time,” she said.
On that day, she left the hospital with memories, pictures, and one more thing to him by- a heartbeat bear.
It’s what inspired her to donate 200 heartbeat bears to the Children’s Hospital of Georgia last year and start her own nonprofit this year called Kyle’s Kritters.
“If I’m having a bad day, I could just hold the bear and listen to his heartbeat. It’s not just a stuffed animal, you know, it’s for people like me that have lost somebody,” she said.
Last year, she was able to donate bears because of word of mouth and from friends and family. Now that she’s started the nonprofit, she says she’s struggling to get even half the donations she got last year.
“I was really wanting to get enough donations to where I could donate again this year at Thanksgiving, and so far it’s not looking like that’s going to happen,” said Tootle.
Each bear costs about $45 and she says her short-term goal is to get at least $2,800 in donations, which would be enough for around 40 bears and free shipping.
Eventually, she’d like to donate bears to all of the hospitals in the area, but she needs the community’s to bring Kyle’s Kritters to life and make it happen.
“I’m still learning as I go, but I’m trying as hard as I can to make this work,” she said.
It’s her way of letting Kyle’s legacy live on by giving to others.
If you’d like to learn more about Kyle’s Kritters and how you can help out, you can visit their Facebook page.
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