Elishugbugs for kids in crisis!
Donation protected
Hi my name is Laura. I live in Arizona with my son, Eli. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2000, at 15 months old. He is 22 years old now and doing great! However, while growing up, he suffered low blood sugar seizures. It is scary to be a child and have a medical emergency. Eli fondly remembers one time when a medic gave him a small teddy bear and it made his experience less frightening.
Eli and I want to help kids in similar situations. We want to offer fire/police departments free elishugbugs! Our goal is to arm first responders with hugbugs so when they are called out to assist children in medical emergencies or domestic violence situations, they have hugbugs in their vehicle to give a child for comfort! I’ve worked in the social services field for over 30 years, so I’m passionate about this project, and seeing it through. When the initial hugbugs are finished, I will be contacting local fire/police departments so they can distribute the hugbugs to children in crisis, at no cost to them!
I’ve allotted 400 dollars of my personal money to purchase the initial hugbugs from Etsy artists. I chose Etsy because I want to support small businesses and I want elishugbugs to be made in the USA. My Etsy artists are on standby, waiting to make more!
This is where you can help us one of three ways:
- 1-We would be happy to accept any small crochet/knitted bugs that meet the specifications of a safe elishugbug. Our Etsy artists are making all kinds of bugs. Ladybugs, butterflies, flies, bees, beetles, snails, etc. Use any pattern for any type of bug.
- 2- You can donate money via GoFundMe. By donating $20.00, we can get 4 elishugbugs made. That means your $20.00 donation will help 4 children!
- 3- Word of mouth is always appreciated. Link your friends to get the word out to support elishugbugs! This would be a great project for school groups, scout groups, senior centers, kindness groups, etc. Anyone can get involved!
If you want to use your crocheting/knitting skills to help, here's the elishugbug specifications:
New, clean crochet/knitted bugs. No plastic eyes. Only stitched eyes. (choking hazard) Also, since our first responders have a small amount of space, please make them no bigger than 8 inches and not so small that they could fit into a child's mouth. (adult fist size) All bugs will get an elishugbug tag so community/first responders can contact me for more bugs or information. My goal is to start local and eventually have a website where agencies can contact me to get their own programs started!
Please send crocheted bugs to:
Laura Day
151 W. Superstition Blvd. #214
Apache Junction, AZ 85117
I appreciate any help getting this project off the ground!
Organizer
Laura Sunshine
Organizer
Apache Junction, AZ
