Bring a Smile to a Hurting Child

Project Smile is a nonprofit that collects new and gently used stuffed animals for police officers to give to children who are:

 accident victims
 crime victims
 witnesses to a crime
 experiencing a traumatic event
 coping with loss
 sick or injured

There are some guidelines on the web site about what kinds of stuffed animals are allowed (no battery-operated toys, no toys over 21" long, etc.). The program is currently up and running only in New England and New Jersey, but I have to believe there's something similar in other parts of the country—or maybe you could start your own chapter!

I sat my kids down in front of the ginormous bin of stuffed animals in the playroom and went through each one, asking whether anyone wanted to keep it. I ended up with two trash bags filled with stuffed animals in perfectly good condition (and another smaller trash bag filled with others that were too stained or worn out to donate). We all feel great about this organization.

Comments

[Debra Hamel]

Thanks for posting this. I'm going to check into it. This is exactly what we need right now.

[Joel]

That is so cool, and I give you A-1 kudos for doing this! My mom is from Europe, and when she was young, the Christmas tradition was for the parents/elders to unveil the Tree on Christmas Eve, and then each child had to choose a package with their name that they would never open to be given to the less fortunate. I would do this with my own children if we had been so blessed, but we have not. Our nieces and nephews are not quite to that level of understanding, but I hope they will realize the power of this when they can internalize and think about others. This rocks. I'm ready to give up my childhood teddy bear, Thomas, to the cause.

[Karen]

Well, hang on to Thomas, because they prefer brand-new bears -- just buy one and then you and some unfortunate kid can each have something to cuddle! By the way, see my update here:
http://verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/2006/01/project_smile_i.html