Local Community Advertising
In late July, much of British Columbia was gripped by the story of Mara Soriano and her stolen teddy bear.
Before passing away, Soriano’s mother gifted her a Build-A-Bear containing a voice message that she could keep with her forever.
“I love you, I’m proud of you, I’ll always be with you,” it said.
When the bear was stolen in late July, the news got around and big name celebrities like Ryan Reynolds and George Stroumboulopoulos offered up $5,000 each for it’s safe return.
Thankfully, it was recovered in less than a week, but the love and support kept coming for Soriano.
Reynolds came through by sending her some of his Aviation Gin, and now a Vancouver radio station has stepped up in a major way.
Got a few of these babies today! thank you @VancityReynolds and @AviationGin! Can't wait to mix up some (okay many) celebratory drinks! pic.twitter.com/S5cHrJsTac
— mara soriano | MAMABEAR IS HOME! (@drawmaradraw) August 6, 2020
“When we heard the story, we realized one thing we could do to help is record the audio from the bear, have a producer clean it up and get it back to Mara so she can have multiple copies,” explained Tyler Middleton, morning show host at 102.7 The Peak in Vancouver.
Now, whether the voice box in the bear fades over time, the batteries died or for some terrible reason the bear was stolen again, Soriano would at least have a backup of the recording.
We had Mara Soriano (@drawmaradraw) in yesterday so she could record a copy of her mom's final message!
— 102.7 THE PEAK (@THEPEAK) August 7, 2020
That way if anything happens to the bear again, she'll have the message no matter what.
So nice to meet you Mara!
- @TylerOnAir & @LynchOnAir
https://t.co/tWMCcnlBV5 pic.twitter.com/3OHhFuYIre
Middleton and co-host Chris Lynch put out the offer on air, Soriano got in contact and came in to take them up on their offer.
“She now has multiple copies of the audio saved on so many different clouds and hard drives it can be listened to for years to come,” said Middleton.
The story of Soriano’s stolen bear started as a heartbreaking one, but has since evolved into a wonderful display of human compassion and the wonders of community.
Local Community Advertising