COMFORT FROM A LITTLE CUB

Paula Shaw –Life Transitions Expert, Grief Specialist, Keynote Speaker, Media Host and Author has a sit-down discussion with Marcella Johnson – President and Founder of The Comfort Club Program.

• Origin of The Comfort Cub
• The role of Comfort from a little Cub when pain and loss occur
• Therapeutic value of the Comfort Cub
• Access to The Comfort Cub

Biography
Driven by a personal journey through profound loss, Marcella Johnson created and designed The Comfort Cub, the world’s first therapeutic, weighted teddy bear. What began as a healing response to the death of her infant son, George Gabriel Johnson, in 1999 has grown into a nationally recognized nonprofit bringing comfort, hope, and relief to thousands facing grief and trauma. The Comfort Cub works through deep touch pressure therapy, a method proven to activate the body’s natural calming response. When held, the bear stimulates the release of serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin— neurochemicals that ease stress and promote well-being. This soothing effect can even help those suffering from Broken Heart Syndrome (stress-induced cardiomyopathy), supporting the heart’s recovery as the enlarged left ventricle returns to its normal size.
Today, The Comfort Cub is used at top hospitals across the country (including labor and delivery, palliative care, oncology, chemotherapy, ICU, and emergency services), school counseling offices, mental health practices, grief therapy, first responder units, and special needs programs. The nonprofit has donated thousands of cubs to survivors of more than 20 mass shootings and their families, as well as to communities impacted by natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Marcella and The Comfort Cub have been featured in TIME Magazine, Rolling Stone, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, Guideposts, Costco Connection, and on major broadcast outlets including The Today Show, CNN (Anderson Cooper 360°), The Lead with Jake Tapper, Pamela Brown’s CNN Newsroom), ABC News Live, CBS, NBC, PBS, KUSI, and Fox News. 
Her humanitarian work has been honored with the Soroptimist International Women Helping Women Award, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Women to Watch Award, the Channel 10 ABC News Leadership Award, and Special Congressional Recognition for outstanding community service. Marcella is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 37 years and is the mother of five children. Based in San Diego, she continues to dedicate her life to ensuring that anyone experiencing loss or trauma—including children and adults with any kind of heartache—can find comfort, healing, and strength through The Comfort Club.

www.thecomfortcub.org