During the making of "Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story," Hallmark partnered with Bears Care, the organization's charitable arm, to add a special touch to the film that would benefit the Chicagoland community.

The organizations launched an auction for two special featured walk-on roles, giving fans the opportunity to bid on a once-in-a-lifetime experience in movie-making magic at Halas Hall, with proceeds going directly to Bears Care, which supports programs that make a measurable difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate, those who battle cancer or those who need a helping hand to reach their full potential.

Carrie May-Borich and Phillip Salamone, both lifelong, die-hard Bears fans, won the auction over the summer and attended the July 17 filming at Halas Hall alongside the full cast, as well as Bears coach Ben Johnson and tight end Cole Kmet.

"It has been a wonderful experience to work with everyone from Hallmark these past few months," Marge Hamm, the director of Bears Care, said. "The opportunities they provided that gave Bears Care the chance to auction behind-the-scenes, once-in-a-lifetime experiences to our fans raised significant dollars for the charity, which will make a huge impact serving our community this holiday season."

From Hallmark's perspective, integrating Bears Care into the film was top of mind, not only through the walk-on roles, but through the film's storyline itself. The scene featuring May-Borich and Salamone mimics the Bears Care Gala, an annual event the Bears typically host at Soldier Field.

The movie scene gives viewers a glimpse into what Bears Care stands for and the impact it has made across the Chicagoland community for decades. Having May-Borich and Salamone on screen during that moment to honor their generosity to Bears Care meant a lot everyone involved.

"It was important to us to find a way to showcase in the film the incredible impact that Bears Care has made all over Chicagoland," Samantha DiPippo, Hallmark senior vice president of programming and content innovation, said. "The end result is woven throughout the story, including a scene at the Bears Care Gala, where we were thrilled to be able to feature walk-on roles for the Bears Care auction winners.

"Creating community engagement combined with our iconic holiday magic is the perfect script for how Hallmark and the Bears are true partners."

May-Borich and Salamone's experiences were as special as they anticipated.

"I had no idea what to expect," May-Borich said. "It was a surprise. And it was a really good surprise."

Both winners were also allowed a plus-one to accompany them to Halas Hall: May-Borich brought her best friend, Sheri Pickens, a Hallmark fanatic, and Salamone brought his father, Phil, who passed his Bears fandom to his son.

"Spending the day with my dad at Halas Hall filming the Hallmark movie was truly a blessing," Salamone said. "Having the opportunity to be part of the movie, experience everything firsthand and meet Coach Johnson was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget."

May-Borich and Salamone began their day at Halas Hall around noon, where they were taken to trailers for hair and makeup.

After getting camera ready, the pair headed to set and began filming the beginning portion of the gala scene when the attendees all file in, interact with Staley Da Bear and mingle amongst themselves.

Throughout the next few hours, May-Borich and Salamone experienced all that goes into filming just one scene, especially one with a large group of people, from rehearsals to filming various moments from several angles to outfit, hair and makeup touch-ups.

"I'm beyond excited for the movie to come out," Salamone said. "Seeing all the behind-the-scenes moments and the hard work Hallmark put into making this movie makes it even more special."

As filming wrapped, Mary-Borich and Salamone were able to meet Johnson and Kmet, who were also featured in the gala scene.

Having a moment to chat with Johnson and Kmet and to share such a unique experience with them meant the world to Benny and Phil, who have always shared a special bond because of the Bears.

An added highlight for May-Borich was meeting Connie Payton, wife of Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton. May-Borich and her husband named their older son Payton and gave their younger son the middle name of "Walter."

"It was incredible," May-Borich said. "They treated me extremely well, everyone that I've met. I had my hair done. I had my makeup done. I had lunch. I got to meet all the stars. I got to meet Ben Johnson. I got to meet Cole Kmet. I got to meet Connie Payton. I mean, it doesn't get much better than that, because I love Hallmark, and I love the Bears."

For May-Borich, this experience was emotional given that her husband surprised her by bidding on the auction following a week when her mother was in the hospital. Knowing that the joy she felt at Halas Hall would also bring joy to the Bears Care community made the day even more special.

"I'm just really happy that we could donate to something that means so much," May-Borich said. "I mean, it's so important because so much of cancer research funding has been cut. I think every single one of us, probably in this room, has been touched by cancer one way or another, whether it's us or people that we love."