- December 20, 2024
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Kari Kron Schmitz was born with a fire in her belly.
Her smile and warm presence lit up any room. Her heart was only matched by her passion, quick wit, stubbornness, sarcastic sense of humor, strong determination and resilience.
“Both Kari and I thought one of the most important things in our relationship was humor,” husband Tad Schmitz said. “It’s an underrated trait that brings people together. Life can be so hard and so weird. If you’re not laughing together or supporting each other, life can get really difficult. We always leaned on humor to get us through some of life’s toughest moments. We both really believed in that.”
Tad Schmitz and his daughter, Gwen — a 16-year-old at Horizon High School — now are continuing Kari Schmitz’s legacy and zest for life, following her death from a rare cancer in January.
Tad and Kari Schmitz are well-known in the Horizon West community for co-founding Bears Who Care, a nonprofit organization that brings comfort and engages the imaginations of ill and disadvantaged children during times of need through teddy bears and books. The organization inspires children to create happy memories for years to come.
“Kari had this undeniable passion for this charity and for life,” Tad Schmitz said. “She lost her parents at a young age, and I think it instilled in her the incredible high value of life. You can only imagine how powerful that was.”
A FAMILY LEGACY
Tad and Kari Schmitz married in 2007 and founded Bears Who Care one year later. The organization is dedicated to encouraging literacy and bringing comfort to a diverse student community — specifically those who are underrepresented, such as minorities and those who are economically disadvantaged.
The organization supports children between ages 1 and 12 in the Central Florida area who have been affected by an illness, injury, disaster or financial hardship.
Bears Who Care delivers plush teddy bears and books to the children and the organizations it serves. The teddy bears and books are purchased new and donated with no financial restitution expected in return. Bears Who Care is funded solely through donations, which means the nonprofit relies on corporations, organizations and individuals to help continue its efforts.
The organization has distributed more than 50,000 teddy bears and books since its creation.
Once contacted about a school in need, the organization travels with its supplies to the school, where the leaders often read a book to the students before gifting them with a bag, which includes a book and a teddy bear named Bailey.
Tad and Kari Schmitz were motivated to bring the charity to life by their desire to give back to the community, as well as to pay tribute to their family members.
The books were inspired by Kari Schmitz’s parents, Jon and Nancy Kron, and their love for reading and literacy. Her parents both were educators, with Nancy Kron serving as a remedial reading teacher and Jon Kron serving as a professor.
Tad Schmitz’s grandfather, Teddy, owned a tavern and was known to be very giving. The tavern hosted events during the holidays to give back to those in need. Tad Schmitz’s father also has continued that legacy on. The teddy bears represent comfort, security and warmth.
OKTOBEARFEST
Bears Who Care’s signature event is its OktoBEARfest 5K Fun Run and Walk, which will celebrate its seventh year Oct. 20.
The event’s name pays tribute to Tad and Kari Schmitz, who both are from German heritage.
The healthy, family-friendly event allows locals to participate in-person or virtually and also includes a Kids Run.
Participants in the 5K will receive an official OktoBEARfest finisher medal, T-shirt, goody bag, race bib and finisher’s certificate, while participants in the Kids Run will earn an official OktoBEARfest finisher medal, goody bag, race bib and finisher’s certificate.
After the two races, participants are invited to enjoy a morning of fun activities, including live entertainment, interactive sponsor booths, games, a scavenger hunt and prize giveaways.
Sponsors for the event include Orlando Health, Observer Media Group, Hamlin and Horizon West Happenings.
This year’s event will be extra special, because it will be dedicated to Kari Schmitz.
This year’s logo will showcase Bailey, the teddy bear, running through a finish line white ribbon, which represents support and advocacy for lung cancer, and the sleeve of this year’s T-shirts will show Bailey hugging a white ribbon, with the T-shirt reading “We run for Kari.”
ONE OF ONE
While most people after a full day of work and taking care of the family would be heading off to bed, Tad Schmitz said Kari Schmitz then would shift to Bears Who Care and work an additional three to four hours every night.
“She just had this extra gear that I think most people don’t necessarily have,” Tad Schmitz said. “That gear really kicked on and came to life with this charity. She had this amazing passion for it.”
Tad Schmitz said Kari Schmitz never asked for help with the distributions. On her own, she would rent a U-Haul, count and organize the materials needed at the nonprofit’s storage space, load up the U-Haul, drive to the distribution school, unload the materials, read to the children and give them their supplies, bring the U-Haul back, and then immediately go back to work.
She did all of this in addition to two other jobs. She spent about 26 years with Walt Disney World, where she served in marketing and as a VIP tour guide, and she also was an adjunct professor teaching creative presentation at Full Sail University.
“If something was in her way, she would never stop going at it until she figured out a way to get through it,” Gwen Schmitz said. “She never gave up, and she always kept going. She had this need and drive to accomplish something good. Even at the end, she never stopped. She got her diagnosis and just kept going.”
Tad and Gwen Schmitz ask that friends remember the passion and love Kari Schmitz had for giving back and being part of the community, as well as to take the time to learn about the Bears Who Care mission.
Tad Schmitz said his wife was an amazing writer, and Gwen Schmitz was helping her to publish a children’s book centered around the story of Bailey.
The family would like to get the book published in Kari Schmitz’s memory.
In addition, the family plans to continue to build and grow the nonprofit and its board to help support the organization, as this is what Kari Schmitz would have wanted.
