A Special Assignment Awaits Your Kids' Stuffed Animals

Think Special Agent Oso is the only stuffed bear capable of helping others? Think again.

Its time to give some of that collection of plush friends that's growing in your child's closet their marching orders.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Patricia Gallagher, founder of the Stories for Seniors project, and a woman whose life and actions have inspired and enriched the lives of thousands of older adults and their families.

Most notably, the Stories for Seniors project distributes new and gently-used stuffed animals, as well as, lap blankets, and fun trinkets such as tissue paper corsages, bubbles, pinwheels, and small dollar store type items to seniors in our area. But, there is far more to the program than simply handing out goodies to the appreciative recipients.

Ms. Gallagher visits with the elderly living in nursing homes, AIDS Hospices, retirement communities, Veterans Hospitals, shelters, cancer support groups, life recovery groups and other places where people are in need of hope, comfort and encouragement. She asks probing questions ("Who was your first real love? What was your favorite book, when you were a child?"), inviting the seniors to share their personal history; something which, for many of them, happens all too infrequently. By her best estimate, Ms. Gallagher believes that approximately 60% of these older adults do not receive regular visitors. 

That means that three out of every five seniors are living without regular face-to-face interactions with friends or loved ones.

The niece of one recipient offered her thanks. “My Aunt Sarah could not speak, wandered around and was just a shell of the person she used to be. There was one thing that she had to hold on to every night – her Charlotte doll. I think the residents who received the stuffed animals today will hold on to them just like my Aunt Sarah did. Just imagine the comfort of that soft fur. People with dementia are like children in a lot of ways.”

How You Can Help
At this time, Ms. Gallagher is completely out of stuffed animals for her nursing home visits. If you have any new or gently used stuffed animals to share, they will go to a very worthy cause - being cuddled by senior citizens in local facilities. You may contact Patricia Gallagher via phone (267.939.0365) to arrange to drop them off at her home in Chalfont. We will also have a collection bin at the North Penn Preschool Expo next month (extra motivation for post-holiday purging!).

Another fun way to help is to make tissue paper corsages for the seniors. Individual parent-child teams have worked together on this fun and inexpensive project, as have entire classrooms and scout troops. For only about $2, you can make 50 corsages! The senior recipients love pinning the corsages to their sweaters or attaching them to their walkers and wheelchairs. A tutorial can be found on Ms. Gallagher's site. (It actually looks pretty simple - even to this not-so-crafty blogger!).

"Sometimes it is just the little things that can brighten a person’s day," says Gallagher.

If you would like to read more about this and other inspiring projects, Ms. Gallagher has a wonderful blog where she describes some of the experiences she has had in her work with the elderly and some additional ideas for how our own families can become involved.

For your future reference, these volunteer opportunities will be listed in the Giving Back section of the North Penn Under Ten site along with other service projects and donation requests. If you are aware of other needs in the North Penn community, please let us know!