Hugaroo Inc

Hugaroo's ultimate goal is to deliver as many stuffed animals/hugs as possible to at risk children, to provide comfort during a really scary time in their lives.  The stuffed animals are bright, cheerful, soft, and cuddly while the children are in a place that's not.  We're providing just a little bit of normalcy. Our goals for 2022 include:
 
1.) Expanding our current donor base beyond family and friends,
2.) adding additional organizations to our delivery schedule within our current footprint of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Colorado and Georgia
3.) build relationships to partner with organizations that fit our mission that could potentially provide services and products required,
4.) expand to other states as opportunities arise, adding diversity to our board as we recruit new members, and expanding into additional social media platforms to help increase our visibility and funding. 

Long-term success would be measured by the increasing number of hugs delivered annually, while we maintain timeliness of deliveries, as well as the quality, and cuddliness of the stuffed animals.

Hugaroo's ultimate goal is to deliver as many stuffed animals/hugs as possible to at risk children, to provide comfort during a really scary time in their lives.  The stuffed animals are bright, cheerful, soft, and cuddly while the children are in a place that's not.  We're providing just a little bit of normalcy. Our goals for 2022 include: 
1.) Expanding our current donor base beyond family and friends,
2.) adding additional organizations to our delivery schedule within our current footprint, expanded to Georgia Lowcountry in 2021,
2.) adding diversity to our board as we recruit new members, and
3.) expanding into additional social media platforms to help increase our visibility and funding. 

Long-term success would be measured by the increasing number of hugs delivered annually, while we maintain timeliness of deliveries, as well as the quality, and cuddliness of the stuffed animals.

Hugaroo has added new Board members in key areas in the Lowcountry of SC & GA and Denver, CO to help strengthen, and expand our newest regions added to the Hugaroo footprint. We are still searching for potential Board members in the Richmond, VA area as well. We are working to also increase the # of board members in all markets because of our recent growth.
With in-kind donations on the rise, Hugaroo continues to enhance a strategy for warehousing these valuable assets, as well as working on a logistical strategy for getting these hugs to the regions that have the greatest need at any given time.
Hugaroo is in the process in developing a "playbook" so that all board members and volunteers know the exact steps needed to be taken to expand into another state, engage with a new organization that would like to receive stuffed animals, as well as those who would like to donate. This could apply to both in-kind and dollar donations.

While our numbers are small, our determination and commitment are mighty. We have a board member with experience
1.) being a CEO of other non-profits,
2.) English and journalism majors for grant writing and profile descriptions,
3.) a marketing major for publicity via social media platforms,
4.) an entrepreneur to help us think outside the box, and
5.) a teacher helping us with the technical aspects of things needed, etc.

We have a network of past board members who contribute their expertise, as well as an attorney and CPA who do pro-bono work for our organization.  There are several volunteers who donate and make deliveries of stuffed animals. We also have a volunteer as our Communication Director to prepare us for the many opportunities that seem to find us. We are hopeful that creating this profile will help strengthen our national exposure on Guide Star by Candid, as well as increase our local presence.

Hugaroo's GIVING SEASON goal to raise $10,000 or 2,000 new stuffed animals/hugs to jump start 2022 has been surpassed. #GivingTuesdayCLT made some great new connections for Hugaroo that along with our loyal repeat donors doubled our goal for our 2022 jump start! BELK, Hallmark, Kay Jewlers, Amazon Wish list purchases and large anonymous donors provided over 12,000 new stuffed animals and it is still growing! Hugaroo is so grateful and feeling blessed for such generosity from so many who believe that "every child needs a hug"!

Hugaroo had its' best year for deliveries (14,806 hugs) to children even with the continued COVID challenges. Our 30,000th bear will be presented to Children's Hospital of Savannah, GA in February 2022 and we expect to reach our 50,000th stuff animal around 4th quarter 2022. With the given generosity, we can continue supporting our 30+ organizations and expand to new ones who support children in need of hugs.

Hugaroo, Inc. can be found in five states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Colorado and Georgia.

Our calendar of supporting donors continues to grow to support our growing monthly deliveries. We expect the need of 1,900 new stuffed animals (hugs) a month on average that we can purchase with a donation of $9,500. Future/current funding sources include the Knights of Columbus (NC), Merrill Lynch (NC), Edward Jones (VA), and a growing number of individuals. In-kind funders include Hallmark, BELK, Kay Jewlers and three large organizations who wish to remain anonymous. New stuffed animal drives have become popular as a way to team build and provide much needed hugs for children with great results even while people are working from home. COVID has continued to lower the charge on peoples’ “hug batteries” for young and old alike. Hugaroo provides a way to recharge!