In a room above an outdoor garage sit a number of bins overflowing with stuffed animals. Felt and ribbon are spread out across the room, bows and outfits lay on tables. These animals do not sit in a children’s playroom, but a processing center. Their final destination has yet to be decided, as these animals have just arrived.

  A number of volunteers take time out of their day to wash the animals, decorate them for their future owners and tag each one with the ‘Mission Snuggle’ brand. Hugs are given and prayers are said over the animals before they are sent on their way to make a difference in the world. In the 10 years that have passed since its humble beginnings, over 32,000 hugs have been spread worldwide through the work of Mission Snuggle, a nonprofit organization that provides stuffed animals to comfort those in need.

  Mission Snuggle began in the halls of Laurel Park Nursing Home, with a resident named Alice Griffin who loved to play Bingo. “Alice loved children and wanted to show God’s love through stuffed animals. She would play Bingo, win the animals from a cart and save [the animals] in her room until it got so full that her roommate, Ruby, and her daughter, Lori, decided to take them to A Friend’s House for the children,” said Erin Kangiser, director of Mission Snuggle. 

  “Something bloomed inside of my heart that day. My eyes were opened and I thought, ‘this could go far and wide,’” said Kangiser, a flight attendant. She saw the potential of the stuffed animals and resolved to use them to “glorify God by comforting children, to inspire in others the opportunity to be involved, and to encourage the residents at Laurel Park Nursing Home.”

  Since that day, the Mission Snuggle volunteer staff has worked over hundreds of hours delivering these animals all over the world, as well as within the local community. Hospitals, fire and police stations, shelters, hospices, orphanages, and victims, including those displaced by tornadoes and hurricanes all over the country, have been given stuffed animals to assist in healing or give comfort.

  Local organizations such as Gigi’s House and Camp Big Heart are regular recipients of Mission Snuggle animals. Animals have also been sent as far and wide as Peru, Cameroon, Guatemala, Africa, Brazil and Kosovo, among many other locations.

  Although all stuffed animals are accepted, the teddy bears that come to Mission Snuggle have a special purpose. “They are called ‘burden bears.’ They have a poem attached, get extra attention and go to people who have heavy burdens,” said Kangiser. “The bears assist them symbolically by helping to carry their burdens.”

  Donna Nelson was one such recipient of a ‘burden bear.’ “They sent me such a special bear. It was sent at a time that I was very low. I had been hit by a car in a parking lot walking to my car and had come close to losing my leg,” said Nelson. “Between the pain, both psychological and physical, it was overwhelming. When I received this bear, she was like a therapist to me. I kept her in a chair by my bed and talked to her for months and months. I cannot describe help the bear gave me.”

  The impact that the animals make on their recipients is not often known, but Kangiser is okay with that. “Mission Snuggle is so much bigger than I am. Stories come back to us secondhand, if we hear anything at all,” said Kangiser.

  And, although Alice Griffin has since passed, residents at Laurel Park still work to support the efforts of Mission Snuggle. Resident Sheila Owens works to continue the Mission Snuggle effort on site, and has been a key part of the organization since the program was first created in those very halls. “I donate all my stuffed animals to them,” said Owens. “Children enjoy them more than [the animals] just sitting there. I like to help out and stuff and love on the animals.” 

  Once a month, Kangiser brings stuffed animals to Laurel park for residents to spend time with, hug and pray over them at their monthly meetings. “I tell them, ‘God is not through with you because you are in a nursing home. You are like one little bit of water that ripples to the end of a lake. The love coming through you is all over the world,’” said Kangiser. “They are touching hearts all over the world. That is the mission God has in place for Mission Snuggle.”

  The request for stuffed animals continues to pour in from all over the world, but Kangiser does not worry about not having enough animals for each request or need. “God will provide,” said Kangiser. If you would like to donate new or gently loved stuffed animals to Mission Snuggle, email info@mis sionsnuggle.com or visit their Facebook Page, Mission Snuggle.