bi-polar bears for a shoemaker

Somehow, when I wrote about this shirt in July, I had thought I had written about the meaning behind it.
Now, I find that I had not.
Let me remedy that.
You see, this shirt is not a mass-produced item, available at a store near you.
That's because the design on this shirt is unique and has only been printed on a few shirts.
I know because I know the artist and I know how much this design means to him.

Kevin Crabtree created The Bi-Polar Bears design to bring attention to the Shoemaker Psychology Scholarship.
Aubrey Della Shoemaker, his teacher and advisor at Walters State Community College in Tennessee, died unexpectedly on March 8, 2019.
Almost immediately he sought to create something that would help others while also honoring her memory.
The scholarship at his alma mater seemed to be a fitting tribute.

Now, how to fund it?
Clearly, a mascot was needed to draw attention.
The mascot needed to be appropriate to the subject matter taught by Professor Shoemaker, but also should bring a smile to the faces of the observers.
In other words, he needed something humorous to attract a spotlight to a serious topic.
The Bi-Polar Bears, modeled after a classic king of hearts (get it?) playing card, filled the bill very nicely.
Colorful, richly detailed, and with a comic twist - superb!

That brings up the next issue: how to garner attention to the cause?
The Ride On Ryan Sprint Triathlon was held on May 9.
By that time, Kevin had the design created and printed on t-shirts and stickers and a banner.
Barely two months had elapsed since Professor Audrey Shoemaker's death and he had completed all of that.
Moreover, he had found two men to complete the team for the three components of the triathlon, to be the swimming bear and the biking bear to his running bear.
They even won their division, as I recall, so that was especially good for catching the public's eye and imagination!

Tonight, I had the pleasure of meeting the biking bear, Chris.
I had worn my Bi-Polar Bears shirt and Kevin had worn his, to double the attention, so to speak.
We had traveled across the Savannah River to pick up his half-marathon race packet for the Rock'n'Roll Marathon this Saturday.

Kevin ran into several folks he knew, of course.
That was hardly surprising, as this is his sixth year with this race series.
Along the way, he talked about the scholarship, distributing stickers and buttons and smiles.
Folks were very interested in helping to spread the word, naturally, and had one question.
They wanted to know how they could contribute.
Well, let's go ahead and settle that question right here and now.

Walters State Community College, like all educational facilities, has a foundation to handle financial gifts.
Contact can be made with the staff there through this link.
Here is the address for checks and money orders.

Shoemaker Scholarship
c/o WSCC Foundation
500 S. Davy Crockett Parkway
Morristown, TN 37813

I know Professor Shoemaker's family will be grateful, as Kevin will be, too.
I wish I could have met the woman, but I never had the opportunity.
She was just a few years older than I am and I think she and I would have become friends.
I think that partly because of what I have heard from Kevin, but also based on a peek into her life, through a video released by the Greeneville Greene County History Museum.
The museum had interviewed her just a short time before her unexpected death, so the video truly does capture her spirit and joy of life.