“Welcome to Care-a-Lot" is a nostalgic journey into the heart of the 1980s, celebrating the enduring legacy of the Care Bears. Originally introduced in 1982, these iconic characters became a phenomenon by teaching a generation the importance of caring for others and expressing their feelings. 

As a child of the '80s, I grew up watching the Care Bears on Saturday mornings. Because I loved the show so much, my dad would tape the shows on VHS so I could watch them over and over again, which I did. I would make my mom read from our Care Bear book collection every night for YEARS at bedtime. I know she was so tired of those stories. I would often imagine as a child that the Care Bears would appear and start talking to me as they did to the children in the books.  

I held onto most of my original toys through the years, including my first Care Bear (Cousins) stuffy, Brightheart Raccoon, and a handmade Tenderheart Bear that my grandma sewed for me. While some of my childhood treasures were given away or misplaced as I got older, the invention of eBay allowed me to hunt down and re-collect some long-lost items as well as add to my collection. Soon I had all of the Pizza Hut tumblers, plushies, books and figurines that I had been missing. Years later, this collection received more use when I had my daughter, who loved playing with the toys, and one Christmas even asked Santa for a cloud car. 

The Care Bears have gone through multiple reincarnations over the last 40 years but the originals are still the most dear to my heart. They remind me of a time when life felt safe and somebear was always there for you when you had a problem or needed to talk.