Alesha Hudson, nine- years- old of Lugoff and Margaret Deans Fawcett, 17- years- old of Columbia, S.C., have been named semi- finalists in the 2009 search for Huggable Heroes®. Hudson and Deans Fawcett are two of 208 young leaders recognized, honored, and cele- bear- ated by Build- A- Bear Workshop® for helping make the world a better place.

Hudson founded Outreach Bicycle, a non- profit organization that provides bicycles to children in need. To date, she has raised more than $2,672 for her project and has been able to provide more than 154 bikes.

Deans Fawcett developed Project Teddy Bear to bring the comfort of a teddy bear hug to children in the hospital. She and her project team have raised $10,000 so far that has gone to purchase hundreds of teddy bears for patients at the Palmetto Richland Children's Hospital and Camp Kemo.

Ultimately, 12 youths will be named 2009 Huggable Heroes and honored at ceremonies to be held in St. Louis, Missouri, in July at the Build- A- Bear Workshop World Bearquarters. Each Huggable Hero will also receive $10,000 USD ($7,500 USD in the form of an educational scholarship and $2,500 USD from the Build- A- Bear Workshop Foundation to be donated to the 501(c)(3) charity of the hero's choice).