HUGS FOR HAITI AND BEYOND

HAPPY VALENTINE'S, EVERYONE!

HUGS TO HAITI

Loving Hugs, Inc. is receiving overwhelming responses from across the country from people wanting to help by giving their ‘portable hugs’ for emotional comfort and support to the children in Haiti. American children all across the country are earnestly and enthusiastically giving up their own stuffed animals (hugs), and getting their friends to join with them in sending us their stuffed animal hugs of comfort, to give to the children of Haiti and beyond. I’m proud of the children in the United States for being inspired to want to give their great loving gift!

We’re receiving wonderful email and phone messages like this one every day, expressing this earnest, compassionate desire on the part of children from across the country, and we are so honored and grateful to have them choose Loving Hugs, Inc. to help them make their desire happen: “Thank you for your thoughtful note and donation receipt. It was my 8 year old daughter, Isabella, who had the idea -- completely unprompted. She decided that her animals needed to go to someone who really needed them, and she tearfully said goodbye to each and everyone, and explained why she was sending them on. My husband found your organization to complete her wish. We are telling friends about you, as it's such a lovely thing that you are doing."
All the best,
Laurie"

Our first Hugs to Haiti were already loaded onto the USNS Grasp just before the earthquake, and its Course changed when the earthquake hit; and so with stuffed animals on board, the Grasp headed to Haiti. Our next bunch of hugs was loaded onto the Coast Guard Cutter, Oak, which deployed to Haiti on January 14th, two days after the earthquake...

A very special “thank you” to the U. S. Navy’s SOUTHCOM, Project Handclasp, CDR Lewis Preddy, LCDR Chaplain Joe Molina, CDR Chaplain David Oravec, and LCDR Chaplain Glenda Harrison! In and amongst the incredible people in our military, I have gotten the blessing and honor to get to work with these great people, or have them just step in and help with getting our stuffed animal ‘hugs’ to those precious children. 

It always appears to be “…the impossible dream…” to also get the much-needed photos of our stuffed animals being given to the children in the countries where our hugs are going. I am very fortunate and honored to work with a thousand-watt smiling, super compassionate Super Hero, LCDR Tim McAlister. He and photographers, Chief Collins and Chris Lussier deserve an award, a Medal of Honor (!) for their ‘hugs giving’ and the photographs they have taken AND sent to me to share with all of you! All of the photos of Hugs For Haiti in this blog are from LCDR McAllister; some taken by him, others by his Combat Photographer. If you are on Facebook, please link to our Facebook Fan Page, “Loving Hugs, Inc.” to view more of their great photos in our Loving Hugs Photo Album. To keep up to date with the great good that is going on in Haiti, through our wonderful military, please log on to these Facebook Pages: USSOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force-Haiti, and the Project Handclasp page for Fans.

Here is what it’s all about in this touching email sent to me from CDR Chaplain Dave Oravec (with his permission), from on board the USNS Comfort in Haiti:

“I had another "teddy bear moment" today. We had a boy-- maybe 12- maybe 13-- arrived at CASREC (Casualty Receiving). He seemed to be right on the edge of being too old for a stuffed animal but I will always err on the side of grace. So, I fished out a little ram.
Coming into CASREC he was withdrawn, hurting-- seemed to have a sadness that many of our patients have. I handed him the ram-- he gave me a shy smile. I looked in on him later as they were moving his broken leg (which is a painful thing)--- the whole time he gently petted his new little furry friend. Beautiful!”

MORE 'GOOD STUFF'

We have recently teamed up with two fantastic organizations who are directing all visitors of their websites to the Loving Hugs, Inc. website, to get their hugs to children in Haiti and beyond through our organization. Their generosity and compassion for these children in need is what helps to increase and magnify the good being done for children around the world! I am deeply grateful, and want to give A Very Special Thank You to these two wonderful organizations for all that they do on a daily basis, and for all that they are doing to help us to get more hugs for more children in need overseas:

Stuffed Animals For Emergencies (S.A.F.E.): http://www.stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org/ and

KidsKnowItNetwork: http://www.kidsknowit.com/. It is through their generosity and compassion that more people are learning about us, and what we do for children around the world, and sending us their hugs for our Program.

Friends, we need your monetary support – especially with the enormous increase in stuffed animal ‘hugs’ that are pouring in and the associated expense in getting them to the children in Haiti and beyond! You can go to our website to make a credit card donation http://www.lovinghugs.org/giving.htm, or write a donation check to:

Loving Hugs, Inc.

P. O. Box 270612

Littleton, CO 80127-0612

Your donation is tax deductible, and you will receive a donation receipt with our thanks and gratitude!

HUGS FOR MBANZA-NGUNGU

Students in The Loving Hugs, Inc. Hugs Sewing Program in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Africa recently made hugs (stuffed animals for emotional comforting purposes) to give to orphans in Mbanza-Ngungu, Bas Congo, DRC, Africa. After an arduous 2-hour plus, one-way bus trip from the capital city of Kinshasa, the Founder and a few of his staff members from Les Ecoles du Coeur (The Schools of the Heart, the literacy and vocational school that we support), arrived at the orphanage with bags of stuffed animal hugs, rice, and cookies for the precious children.

Part of the sewing vocational training at Les Ecoles du Coeur includes the making of stuffed animals. The young women students, many single mothers, are paid by Loving Hugs, Inc for the animals they produce to give them some reliable source of income. We also pay for food to be purchased and delivered to the orphans with the stuffed animal ‘hugs’. This is a beautiful Win-Win-Win situation! I love serving the idea that “What blesses one, blesses all.” When it’s on this basis, it always comes full-circle. I am deeply grateful to Mr. Mayal Tshiabuila, my Partner in the Congo, and his staff at Les ecoles du Coeur, for doing this great activity for those children in Mbanza-Ngungu, and for doing such a great job! Everyone everywhere needs to know that someone cares, and to be given comfort and hope for their future. This is what we are doing in the Congo with Loving Hugs, Inc. and Les Ecoles du Coeur.