This year, instead of gifts for her birthday, Kari Trudo is asking for something different: help her give another grieving family the same comfort hers experiences every day — hugging, holding, and taking her grandson Warin's teddy bear urn on adventures with them.

Warin Bruce Larose was born on January 25th, 2024, fighting a congenital heart defect before he ever took his first breath. He spent five days in the NICU at Brigham and Women's Hospital before his parents, David and Holli, had to say the hardest goodbye of their lives. His big sister Winona was only two.

Warin was born fighting. In the days before his birth and the days that followed, Big Beautiful Life stood beside this family with practical help and emotional support. David was able to take two months off work. Holli didn't have to worry about how to pay for Warin's celebration of life. And in the quiet weeks after, when the casseroles stop coming and the house went silent, BBL stayed in touch.

To carry the light and legacy of children who left this world too soon, BBL created a comfort and bereavement support program for grieving families. In memory of Warin, teddy bear urns give a family something tangible to hold onto when there's nothing left to hold — a companion for hugs at home and adventures out in the world.

This birthday, Kari isn't asking for anything for herself. She's asking for $300 — the cost of one teddy bear urn — so another family can carry that same comfort with them, wherever they go.

$300 provides one complete teddy bear urn keepsake for a family who has just lost their child.

Every gift, in any amount, gets us closer. We will carry you forward, Warin — and we will make sure no family walks that road alone.

Read Warin's full story: bigbeautifullife.org/blog/f/shining-warins-light

Kari's Birthday Wish: One Bear, One Family

For my birthday, I'm asking for $300 — the cost of one teddy bear urn — in memory of my grandson Warin.

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