Maxine Clark

Build-a-Bear Workshop (BBW), founder and CEO

St. Louis

The specialty retailer of made-to-order plush teddy bears and other animals has grown from a single shop in St. Louis in 1997 to almost 600 stores spanning the globe, generating $474 million in sales last year. The Build-a-Bear Workshop Foundation supports a number of organizations that help children and families, animals, and the environment with grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. The company's slate of philanthropic activities also include Huggable Heroes, a program that honors young people working to make a difference in their communities by giving them seed money to continue their good works, and the company's annual Stuffed With Hugs event, where customers make a bear to be donated to a worthy cause.

"I don't think that it is right to be in business in a community without giving back and giving forward. We have built a relationship with our customers. For us it is not just giving to charity but encouraging others to be charitable too. This is good for the economy, not just for Build-a-Bear. It makes the world a better place and we see it is part of our job as a responsible public company."