October Loving Hugs 'Good Stuff'

Some of our hugs have been given to children living in an orphanage for the deaf in Kenya. The photos of the children with their hugs in this month’s blog are from that wonderful hug-giving, thanks to our wonderful Partnership with Global Samaritan Resources.  These children are so precious! Thanks Global Sam!

Over 31,000 children in need around the world have now received a comforting ‘loving hug’ (cuddly plush stuffed animal) from Americans through Loving Hugs, Inc. These ‘hugs’ provide a soft way to help them through the trauma and stress of their lives. We are grateful to everyone who helps by giving us hugs, and donating to our organization in all needed ways!

A CONTAINER OF GOOD!

Thanks to Ed Enzor of Global Samaritan Resources, who wrote a ‘blurb’ about Loving Hugs, Inc. for their September newsletter, Mr. Jim Mead of BKA Logistics, read and was inspired by the article, and has offered us some FREE space on a container he is shipping for some clients to Kinshasa, DRC, Africa (where our Programs are). This is a HUGE gift! Normally they have to purchase all needed items in Kinshasa. Most items available to them are made in China, and break down too quickly and easily. This slows down production, and costs money in repair bills. Jim is also helping us get our items to the east coast, where the container is being loaded. Thank you so much Jim for this generous gift of free space and transportation of the goods for our Programs! We appreciate you and your help so much! Because of this generosity, we are going to be able to provide the following items for our Programs, thanks also to the following organizations and individuals:

The Rotary Club of Westminster 7:10 in Colorado has donated 12 refurbished computers with monitors, keyboards & mice for us to start our much-desired computer training program and lab for the school that we help to support in Kinshasa. This will provide an enormous amount of good, including some future self-sustainability for this school. Thank you so much to The Rotary Club of Westminster 7:10, Colorado for their generosity and donation for this great purpose of good! We appreciate it!

Our vocational sewing program is growing (!), and we need sewing machines that we can count on to not breakdown so often! Thanks to the help of Jim Lanning of International Relief and Development, we may be receiving some great sewing machines in time to add to this container of goods, headed for Kinshasa. Thank you so much, Jim– As if you don’t have enough on your platter already!! I am so grateful to you for your help!

The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation is donating school uniforms to Loving Hugs, Inc. for the schools that we help to support in Kinshasa. Parents in the Congo cannot afford to feed their children, or pay for education, let alone pay for the required uniforms for school children of all schools in the Congo! This is a HUGE gift that will help the parents of the students, as well as the schools that we are helping in Kinshasa. Thank you so much Susan Johnson and the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation! Your gift will be gratefully received in time to make it onto the container for Kinshasa.

Project C.U.R.E. is generously giving us some space in their warehouse to pack up and palletize these goods for Kinshasa. They are also allowing us to use their warehouse to ship from, in order to get these goods to the east coast where they will be loaded onto the container. Thank you so much, Project C.U.R.E. for your generosity and graciousness. We really appreciate it, and couldn’t do this without your help– and that goes for all of you!

THE U.S. NAVY’S INITIAL PLANNING CONFERENCE AND THE GOOD STUFF!

I recently attended the U. S. Navy’s SOUTHCOM Initial Planning Conference for their 2010 Continuing Promise humanitarian aid deployments. It was an outstanding conference, opportunity and experience! It even brought some immediate gratification, as well as the assurance of increased good that will take place with our Partnering with them for their 2010 deployments, to get our hugs to the children in need. We will need even more hugs! I want to thank everyone involved at SOUTHCOM for all that you do and give, and for partnering with Loving Hugs, Inc. for greater good for the children, and all of us!

While at the conference, I got an amazing tour of the USS Samuel B. Roberts, which is taking 1,000 of our hugs to children in need in Africa. What an amazing ship, with an incredible history of survival–  in spite of running into a mine in the Persian Gulf, and cracking in two!

Thank you to Chaplain Black and CDR Preddy for setting up this amazing tour, and thank you to Petty Officer Worden for the outstanding tour of this ship! It was excellent!

SWEET INSPIRATIONS AND HAPPENINGS

I received an inspiring phone call from a woman named Denice, from Texas. Her daughter Carson, is turning 7 years old soon, and will be having a birthday party to celebrate her 7 years, inviting 100 of her friends. Instead of asking for gifts for herself, she wants to have a “Hugs Party”, so-to-speak. She is going to ask her friends to bring stuffed animals to donate to Loving Hugs, Inc. to help bring comfort to children in need around the world! Carson’s parents told me that this was Carson’s idea, and this is just the way she is naturally. She found us through an internet search. Thank you so much Carson for being the amazing and compassionate person you are (you inspire me!), and thank you to “mom and dad” for raising such a wonderful young person!

A woman in New York phoned recently to say that she was inspired by a recent article she read in a New York newspaper that someone had written (thank you to whoever wrote that article!) about Loving Hugs, Inc. She called from New York to find out how she could donate new stuffed animals to us for our Program. Inspiration ripples out to ignite and create increased good for children around the world! It’s Good Stuff!

My gratitude goes out to this world of great, good people who are so generous, compassionate, and supportive of increasing the good, and helping Loving Hugs, Inc. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

Wendy L. Clark
Executive Director
Loving Hugs, Inc.