Youth Across the Country Honored for Good Deeds; Build-A-Bear Workshop

    Business Editors/Lifestyle Editors

    ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2005--From sea to shining sea, stories of good deeds done by our nation's youth have poured into Build-A-Bear Workshop(R) (NYSE:BBW). Now 29 finalists have been selected in the second annual search for Huggable Heroes(TM)- a program that honors kids who perform outstanding service to help their own communities and communities around the world.
    The finalists have been selected from a search that spanned the United States and Canada looking for the 2005 Huggable Heroes. From hundreds of entries, judges selected 123 semifinalists which have now been narrowed to 29 finalists.
    Starting April 15 through May 2, the public is invited to vote for their favorite Huggable Hero on the Build-A-Bear Workshop website, www.buildabear.com.
    One young person will be named the People's Pick honoree and join nine other individual Huggable Heroes, selected by an independent judging panel. Huggable Heroes will attend the grand opening of the Build-A-Bear Workshop 5th Avenue flagship store in New York City this summer. During their visit, they will participate in a photo shoot with a professional photographer and be featured in the 2006 Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Heroes calendar. Each Huggable Hero will also receive a donation to the cause they support. Two outstanding groups of kids, one from the U.S. and one from Canada, also will be named Huggable Heroes and recognized for their efforts.
    The finalists hail from Rhode Island to Seattle and everywhere in between. From four-year-old Molly Knox who makes and sells "Molly Knox Pet Socks" filled with catnip to raise money for local animal shelters to fifteen-year-old Sondra Clark who has written a book about volunteering and sixteen-year-old Wellard Burnside who collects suitcases for foster children, the good deeds are as varied as the youths who have done them.
    A central theme that emerges is that kids like to help other kids - whether at home or abroad. Taylor Mullinax makes autograph hats that come complete with Sharpie pens for children undergoing chemotherapy. Other kids work hard to raise money for kids suffering from diseases like Cystic Fibrosis and Juvenile Diabetes. Jena Sims started a beauty pageant for kids with cancer.
    Still others help kids cope with divorced parents and kids whose parents are in prison. They trick or treat for canned goods and teach about the dangers associated with grain bins. They reach out to suffering children in Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq and Southeast Asia. They see a need and they respond.
    "We believe that one good deed deserves another," said Maxine Clark, Founder and Chief Executive Bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop. "We are so proud of the all the kids who work to make the world a better place. By recognizing them, we hope to encourage them to continue their good work and also to inspire other kids to get involved."
    According to a nationwide survey of over 1,500 children and their parents by Impulse Research Corporation, children and teenagers are strong advocates for community service. In fact, children younger than the age of seven are volunteering their time and making a difference in their communities.
    The 29 finalists (full stories and information online at www.buildabear.com) include:

Sondra Clark, Age 15 Tacoma, Washington

Megan Freeland, Age 17 La Habra, California

Lissa Zingerman, Age 10 Thousand Oaks, California

Elizabeth Franklin, Age 15 La Mesa, California

Hanna Pelican, Age 12 Colorado Springs, Colorado

Taraneh Sodoma, Age 10 Woodinville, Washington

Caroline Rowley, Age 15 Houston, Texas

Clayton Lillard, Age 16 San Antonio, Texas

Warner Phipps, Age 16 Kearney, Nebraska

Ariel Glasser, Age 14 Skokie, Illinois

Courtney Tenor, Age 12 Green Bay, Wisconsin

Audrey King, Age 16 Wildwood, Missouri

Welland Burnside, Age 16 Murrells Inlet (Myrtle Beach), South Carolina

Jena Sims, Age 16 Winder, Georgia

Krystal Strader, Age 17 Mount Holly, North Carolina

Colleen Theriault, Age 12 Willow Spring, North Carolina

Rebecca Nashban, Age 10 Boca Raton, FL

Taylor Mullinax, Age 11 Chicamauga, Georgia

Molly Knox, Age 4 Pitman, New Jersey

Zachary Librizzi, Age 7 Warwick, Rhode Island

Emily Olsen, Age 10 Fairport, New York

Autumn Faucher, Age 9 Pelham, New Hampshire

Kaitlyn Bonne, Age 11 Mayslanding, New Jersey

Devin Whitney, Age 8 Ravena, New York

Christianna Wood Roddick, Age 10 of Calgary, Alberta

Tiffany Bird, Age 14 Wainwright, Alberta

Razan Al-Nabulsi, Age 9 Woodbridge, Ontario

Fay Marie Young, Age 10 St. Catharines, Ontario

Alyse Geiger, Age 13 Edmonton, Alberta

    About Build-A-Bear Workshop

    Build-A-Bear Workshop(R), Inc. (NYSE: BBW), with fiscal 2004 total revenue of $302 million, is the only national company that offers Guests an interactive make-your-own-stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. The first store opened in St. Louis in 1997; at the end of 2004 the company operated 170 stores in 40 states and Canada. With the opening of its store in Sheffield, England, in the fall of 2003 and the addition of international stores in Japan, Denmark and Australia in 2004, Build-A-Bear Workshop has become the global leader in the teddy bear business. In November 2004, the company opened two friends 2B made(R) stores, the newest concept based on the doll-making experience. For more information about the company and its products, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company's award-winning Web site at www.buildabear.com.

    TRADEMARKS

    We would like to thank you for your interest in covering our business. As you write your story we would ask that you use our full Name: Build-A-Bear Workshop(R) and that when referencing the process of making stuffed animals you use the word "make" not "build".
    Build-A-Bear Workshop(R) is our well-known trade name and our registered trademark of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. Build-A-Bear Workshop(R) should only be used in capital letters to refer to our products and services and should not be used as a verb.

--30--LC/na*

CONTACT: For Build-A-Bear Workshop Samantha Leavitt, 314-995-3939 x101 or 314-520-4669 samanthal@blickandstaff.com or Build-A-Bear Workshop Shawn Bertani, 314-423-8000 x5366 or 314-452-6391 shawnb@buildabear.com

KEYWORD: MISSOURI INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ADVERTISING/MARKETING RETAIL CONSUMER/HOUSEHOLD SOURCE: Build-A-Bear Workshop

Copyright Business Wire 2005